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Thea turned back to Brett. How long would she keep hurting him? She wanted everything he wanted, and there was so much at stake. He’d forgiven her before, but would he forgive her this time?

She stood and tiptoed to her bedroom and closed the door behind her. Sinking onto the bed and stretching out on her stomach, she let the warm comforter cradle her. With her face against the pillow, she let the silent tears fall as she prayed.

“Please let him forgive me, Lord. I can’t believe I hurt him again.” She brushed her face against the fabric, drying her tears. “And I love these people. I wish I could stay,” she whispered into the empty room.

Chapter21

Brett

Coffee. Where was the coffee?

Brett blinked through the heaviness in his eyelids. The sun hadn’t even decided to peek through the windows yet.

But there was coffee. Somewhere.

He pulled his phone from underneath his pillow and checked the time. Two more minutes, and his alarm would have done the job for him.

Stretching out the aches in his elbows, he sniffed again.

Right. Coffee.

He stumbled to the bathroom and locked himself inside. He splashed a handful of water on his face, dried off, and brushed his teeth. He’d promised not to move his stuff in, but needing his toothbrush before and after sleep required one necessity.

Placing his blue toothbrush beside Thea’s green one and Hadley’s purple one, he ran a hand through his messy hair and went in search of the morning brew.

When he opened the bathroom door, Thea stood just outside holding a steaming cup. Her hair hung loose over her shoulders, and her eyes were tired.

How did she look so gut-wrenchingly beautiful this early in the morning?

She held the cup out to him, and he took it.

“A peace offering.”

What did either of them know about peace? They’d been fighting for it for so long that it seemed like an impossible feat.

Brett accepted the coffee, and Thea kept her head down. It killed him to see her upset.

But nothing he could do would make her happy. He’d tried and failed.

“I was hoping we could talk. Please?” she asked.

He’d found excuses to avoid her let-me-down-slowly speech, but it seemed he couldn’t run away from this one.

He nodded toward the living room and followed her. She took the couch, and he chose the recliner. He didn’t want to be sitting close to her when she stuck a fork in his pride.

He sipped the coffee while she squirmed. Whatever she had planned for him was bound to hurt.

“I want to start at the beginning, but first, I need to tell you how sorry I am.”

Great. The it’s-not-you-it’s-me talk.

Thea picked at her fingers in her lap. “I’m so sorry for making you feel like I didn’t want everything you’ve given me here. I wanted all of this and more.” She scoffed. “I’ve been pretty selfish.”

Brett took another sip of coffee. Hopefully, it would cool down soon so he could chug it. He needed something stronger for this conversation.

“The beginning. After my dad died, I told my mom and Gage about us. You and me.” She pushed a hand through her hair. “They weren’t happy, to say the least.”

“I never expected their blessing,” Brett said, flat and numb like his heart.