Page 43 of Bad Boy Husband

JAMESON

T he rain was coming down in sheets by the time I pulled up to Trent’s house. I killed the engine of my rental car and just sat there for a second, watching the water race down the windshield. My fingers were clenched tight around the steering wheel, my knuckles aching.

I hadn’t slept. The weather delay that had derailed my arrival had nearly made me lose my mind. I’d come this close to making my pilot attempt a landing in a storm that had made the control tower reroute most other flights.

Another few minutes and I would have been in Houston right now. Maybe Austin. I actually had no idea where they’d sent the other planes. I hadn’t asked and I still didn’t care.

All I could think about was her. Sadie. The way she’d looked at me last night before she left. The silence that had followed. The goddamn ache in my chest that hadn’t let up since.

Finally, I blew out a breath and ran both hands through my hair. Even the pilot had told me that I looked like hell, and I did, but I didn’t care about that either.

At least Sterling had stocked the jet with some toiletries.

I’d been able to brush my teeth and put on some deodorant.

It wasn’t as good as a shower. We had one of those on the plane, but by the time the pilot had made the comment, we’d already landed and I hadn’t wanted to waste any more time getting to her.

It was still storming out, but I climbed out of the car and walked over to the front porch feeling a little like I was marching slowly to my death. I had no idea where Sadie’s head was at right now. I didn’t know if Trent had told her what we’d found out or if she believed him.

More importantly, I still didn’t know if I’d lost her for good. If I had, I wasn’t sure where I’d go from here. Certainly not home.

Trent opened the front door before I’d even made it up the steps. He didn’t say anything at first. Just took one look at me and shook his head, waving for me to come inside. “I’ll grab you a towel.”

“I’m fine,” I said, my voice sounding as hollow and numb as I felt. “Where is she?”

“In the pool house.” He shut the door behind me, ignoring what I’d said about being fine and striding down the hall to his guest bathroom.

A few seconds later, he emerged with a fluffy white towel in his hands.

“Dry off while we talk. Then take that with you or you’ll just get drenched all over again. ”

I honestly didn’t care that I was soaked to the bone after only a minute in the rain, but I took the towel from him anyway and scrubbed it over my face and hair first. “How bad is it?”

“She’s heartbroken,” he said plainly. “She’s pretending not to be, but yeah. It’s pretty bad. She feels like shit about what happened.”

Pain lanced through me. “It wasn’t her fault. Fucking lying, deceitful assholes.”

“Yeah, I know that, but she…” He trailed off, gaze drifting in the direction of his pool and the guest house beyond. “I didn’t tell her you were coming. Just in case you changed your mind, I decided against it. I had a feeling you were still going to show up, though. I hoped so anyway”

“Of course, I was going to fucking show up. I told you I’d be here in a few hours, right?”

A tired but relieved grin spread on his lips. “Yeah, I guess you did. Nice to know you’re still who I thought you were.”

“Yeah. We’re going to talk about that later.” Dry enough, I strode toward the doors that opened up to his backyard and turned to look at him over my shoulder. “Trent?”

“Yeah?” He was still standing near the door, looking about as weary as I felt. “What’s up?”

“I’m going to take care of her,” I said and I meant it. “I would never cheat on her. Never hurt her. She’s the only woman I’ve ever loved and the only one I want.”

“I’m starting to understand that.” He waved me toward the doors. “Go. It’s no use trying to talk when I know you’d rather be working it out with her first. Besides, I need a shower and some sleep. Maybe not in that order.”

I dropped my chin in a nod and made my way out into the rain, barely registering the way it soaked through my shirt. Again.

Every step felt like a lifetime, but I jogged the short path to the pool house, opened the door, and slammed to an abrupt stop as soon as I’d shut it behind me.

Sadie was standing right there, only a few feet away, and even though it had been less than a day since I’d last seen her, it felt like forever.

It looked like she was fresh out of the shower, her vibrant red hair dark since it was still damp.

Wearing a T-shirt and shorts, she was packing an overnight bag on the kitchen counter, or maybe searching for something.

I wasn’t sure, but she spun around at the sound of the door, her eyes wide and startled.

“Jameson,” she breathed. “What are you—how did you…?”

My heart was racing at a thousand beats per minute, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t think. All I could do was look at her, my gaze sweeping up and down the entire length of her body as I checked her over instinctively for injuries I knew she didn’t have.

“I was coming back,” she said quickly, like she had to get the words out before I disappeared again. “I didn’t know—I didn’t think you’d?—”

“Sadie.”

“I know I messed up,” she rushed out. “I shouldn’t have gone with Carson, I shouldn’t have?—”

“Sadie, stop. You didn’t mess up. We were both victims of some stupid game concocted by people too lazy to fix their own problems the honest way.

” My voice came out rougher than I’d intended, but I couldn’t keep letting her think for another second that I was pissed at her.

Or that I’d ended things. I had to get it all out, every damn word that had been choking me for years.

“I love you. I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember and I’m never going to stop. I can’t stop.”

She went completely still, blue eyes as wide as I’d ever seen and brimming with tears. Her hands were trembling slightly too and it fucking killed me, but I still needed to get this out before I would let myself touch her.

“I tried to bury it,” I explained, stepping closer as I spoke.

“I did everything I could to try and convince myself that I could watch you fall in love with someone else and be happy for you.” The words came out broken, ragged and hoarse, the very thought of it making me want to put my fist through a wall.

“I told myself that I could live with it. I thought I had to live with it because I knew I shouldn’t want you the way I did.

I’m Trent’s friend. You’re his sister. Above all else though, I didn’t think I deserved you. ”

“Why?” She blinked like she didn’t understand.

I paused, suddenly feeling like maybe I was the one who didn’t understand. “Why what?”

“Why do you love me?” she asked, her voice hushed, almost like she was embarrassed. “I’m a mess. I’m poor. I’m scatter-brained and I’m forcing you to live with two wild beasts that sleep on your couch like they own it.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. God, I love her.

“I love all of that,” I said, stepping closer while rivulets of rain ran from my hair and down my spine and my temples, into my already soaked shirt.

“I love that you’re messy. I love that you talk too much.

I love that making one cup of coffee means you turn the kitchen into a nuclear disaster zone.

I love those damn dogs and the way you always give people the benefit of the doubt, even if they don’t deserve it. ”

She looked at me, her lips parted and her eyes wide and glassy.

“You’re the only person who’s ever really seen me,” I said, my voice straight-up breaking now.

“You’ve never looked at me and seen Jameson Westwood, future CFO of the illustrious Westwood and Sons.

You don’t care about my family name, or my heritage, or my bank account, or the houses.

Just me. You see me and that’s all I ever wanted. ”

I moved even closer, slow but sure. “I didn’t want to marry someone just because I was expected to.

I wanted to marry someone who would be with me .

Through the good, the bad, and everything in between, and that’s always been you, Sadie.

Ever since the very first day I met you, you’ve been the only one who’s seen Jamie, not Jameson Westwood . ”

She swallowed hard.

“You were it for me years ago. I was just too young, too stupid, and too scared to admit it. But I’m not scared now. I’m done letting people get between us.”

“But I—” She rolled her tearful gaze toward the ceiling and inhaled a deep, shaky breath. “I ruined?—”

“No,” I cut her off. “You didn’t ruin anything, Sades. I didn’t do enough to show you I was all in. I should’ve said all this sooner. I should’ve fought harder. That’s on me.”

Another step closer and she was right in front of me, her breath catching as she looked up into my eyes. “Do you really mean all of that?”

“I do.” I smiled. “I do. Shit, I really love saying those words when I’m saying them to you, but I really, really do, Sades. I mean all of it more than I’ve ever meant anything before.”

“You’re not angry about yesterday?” she whispered. “I thought you’d told your family the wedding was off.”

I shook my head. “If Carson told you that, he lied. Again. If you want to call it off, we will, but I sure as shit wasn’t going to walk away from you forever just because some assholes put us through the wringer.

I wasn’t going to let you go on thinking that I wanted Collins over you. Not in this universe or any other.”

As I spoke, I reached for her hips, taking them in my hands and backing her gently against the wall. Then I stroked her soft cheeks with the backs of my fingers and stared down into those eyes that had haunted my dreams for so many years. “Do you believe me?”

The barest hint of a smile ghosted across her lips. “Yes, Jameson. I believe you.”

I grinned, my head descending to capture her lips in a kiss that slayed me. The storm raged on outside, thunder crashing loud enough to rattle the windows, but none of it touched us. My hands framed her face. Her wet skin was warm beneath my palms.

She kissed me back like she was drowning and I was the only thing keeping her afloat. Maybe I was. I didn’t know, but if that was true, then it was okay because I wasn’t letting her go again. I would never let her sink.

Not now and not ever.

The world had done so much to knock her down. Her family, her friends, and so many others made her feel like she wasn’t worthy. I vowed right there and then that she would never feel that way again.

To me, Sadie Shepard was everything, and from then on, I would make sure she knew it. I would never, ever let her doubt it again and I would make it my personal mission to let her know, every single day, that she was my priority. My one and only. My true love, just like she always had been.