Page 105 of Mr. Edwards

“I loved her…I still love her, I thought she loved me too.”

Reece leans back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head as he studies me. “You two were together for a while.”

“Six months.”

“There were others before you, but they all pretty much ended not long after they started. I was surprised you two lasted as long as you did.”

“Do you think it’s her past that’s holding her back? I thought we’d worked through that?”

“She told you about her past?” he asks surprised.

“Yeah. This is probably going to sound dumb, but thank you for all you’ve done for her. I’m grateful she had someone like you looking out for her when she was a kid.”

His eyes widen slightly. “She did open up to you.”

“That surprises you?”

“It’s not something she usually does. Even with me. I only know what I know because I saw it with my own eyes.” He sits forward in his chair, resting his forearms on the desk. “My childhood wasn’t all that different, but I was lucky I had grandparents that gave a shit about me. Carlee had no one.”

I swallow thickly. “She had you.”

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to see her happy.”

“Will you help me then? I want to give her the life she deserves. Everything feels meaningless without her. I miss her, I’ll do anything to win her back.”

“Don’t make me regret this,” he says, and a smile bursts onto my face.

It’s been eight excruciating days since I was last here. Reece and I exchanged phone numbers before I left his office that day because we needed to formulate our plan. He’s agreed to help me get in Carlee’s vicinity, but that’s as far as he’s willing to go. He said the rest was up to me. So here I am.

I worked my ass off with the physical therapist the past week and was able to finally get rid of that damn brace. My leg is still not one hundred percent, but I’m allowed to drive, and tomorrow I’m heading back to work. My life finally feels like it’s back on track.

Carlee only works three days at the gym. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings she does a ladies self-defense class, and on Saturdays, she teaches karate to a bunch of kids. That turned out to be my only option, despite the one obvious hitch… I’m a grown-ass man. I’d gladly spend that time surrounded by a bunch of snotty-nosed brats if that’s the only way I can be close to my girl.

Last night I took a drive to her favorite pizzeria back home, the place we went the night we met, and I didn’t just get her a slice, I got the entire damn Tiramisu cake to go, which I’ve brought along with me today. Go big or go home, I say.

I’ve also added something of my own into the box. There’ll be no mistaking my intentions when she sees it. I’m done playing around. I’m all in, and I won’t stop until she’s mine again.

I’ve been here for the past half hour, out of sight, watching from the wings. Today’s lesson is how to defendyourself if you’re being attacked from behind. I’ve never seen this side of her before, she is in her element.

When her class finally wraps up, I emerge from the shadows, revealing myself. Her steps falter and her eyes bug out of her head the moment they land on me.

That’s right, sunshine, I found you, and this time I’m not letting you get away.

For a brief moment, I see a flash of her vulnerability, but she quickly schools herself. I’m a sucker for that look, it’s what drew me to her in the very beginning.

“G-Grayson, what are you doing here?”

I’m here because I love you… I miss you, and I’m going to win you back if it kills me.

I shove my free hand into the pocket of my jeans. “It’s nice to see you too, Carlee,” I say coolly, despite the flurry of nerves that course through my body.

Her eyes dart around; she almost looks panicked. If she’s worried about Reece, she needn’t be. “You have to leave. You can’t be here.”

I wasn’t sure how she’d react to seeing me, but I was hoping she’d be a tad warmer. Is she getting back at me for slamming the door in her face?

I casually lift one shoulder. “No can do, I’m afraid. I’ve just signed up for a class here.” I extend my arm, holding out the bag in my hand. “I also bought you this?”

She hesitantly takes it from me without looking inside. “You’re taking a class? Here?”