“So you’re still having nightmares?”
“Yeah, every night now.” She lowered her head to the crook of her arm. “That hasn’t happened since the days following the rape. I thought I was over the worst of it, but it feels like it’s starting all over again.”
I held out my hand to her. I was angry she’d kept me in the dark, but I couldn’t stand to see her going through hell alone. “Come here. I need to hold you, angel.”
Without hesitation, she rose and took my hand. She sat beside me and curled into my chest. “I hate myself for what I put you through.”
“This wasn’t your fault, sweetheart.” I kissed the crown of her head as I ran a hand over her hair. “He did this. He’s to blame. Not you.”
“Are you sure you don’t hate me?” She sounded so scared and timid, nothing at all like the confident, sassy woman I’d fallen in love with.
“I’m positive, baby. This won’t break you, angel. I won’t let it.”
She shuddered, holding me tighter. “I know it won’t. I just need some time, maybe some more therapy.” Shutting her eyes, she said, “I’m supposed to be the together one who mentors these women, and I feel like I’m right back where I started.”
“But you’re not,” I assured her. “This is just a set-back. Anyone would feel the way you do.”
“How can you be so understanding?”
“Because I love you more than I hate him. I started out wanting revenge, but now I just want to close this chapter so we can move on with our lives together.”
She looked at me, her eyes wide and glowing. “You still want a life with me after everything I put you through?”
“My sweet angel.” I stroked her face as I smiled at her. “It’s not like I have a choice. You own me, heart, body, and soul. Where the hell am I gonna go without you?”
She smiled and touched my face reverently. “I passed some of my workload off to my assistant. I decided I need to take some time off to regroup.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea.” I kissed her softly. “Maybe a change of scenery?”
“I was thinking the same thing.” She rested her head against my shoulder and ran my silk tie through her fingers. “My assistant said she’d be interested in buying my business.”
“Really?” I wanted to let her know how thrilled I was by that prospect, but not until I knew how she felt about it. “What did you tell her?”
“That I’d have to talk to you about it first.”
I grinned. “Really? I thought you weren’t talking to me.”
“I couldn’t tell you all this over the phone. It was just too much.”
“So you weren’t ignoring me because you’d given up on us?”
“I could never give up on us,” she said, burrowing deeper under the throw I’d pulled over her.
“Sell, Maura. Sell your business and move to New York with me. You can start another business or take some time off and travel with me. Whatever you want, baby.” I peppered her cheeks and forehead with kisses. “I just need you with me.”
“We’ll have to come back for the trial,” she reminded me. “And to visit our parents.”
“Our parents?”
“Have you seen your mom and dad yet?” She tipped her head back to look at me.
“No, I was planning to go see them in the morning.”
“Can I come with you?” she asked. “I want to see them, to apologize for everything and let them know I never intended to hurt you or them. I can’t even imagine the hell they’ve been through, wondering what happened to you.”
I tightened my grip around her. In that moment, all of my anger, frustration, and resentment melted away. She got it. She got me. “You don’t have to apologize for anything, sweetheart. But I do want you to go with me to see them.”
“You do?”
“Of course. I have to introduce my parents to the woman I’m going to marry, don’t I?”
Her smile lit up her face. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too, angel. Everything I went through to get here, all those years in prison and on the run, I’d do it all again if I knew it was going to bring me back to you. You are my life.”
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Now Available
Part One in the Liar Liar Trilogy
Breaking Free
Part Two in the Liar Liar Trilogy
Truth or Dare
Part Three in the Liar Liar Trilogy
Last Chance
Coming Soon
The Stavros Family Saga, #1
Aris
The Stavros Family Saga, #2
Jase
The Stavros Family Saga, #3
Talia
Table of Contents
Coming SoonThe Stavros Family Saga, #1ArisThe Stavros Family Saga, #2Jase