Page 9 of The Billionaire's Bride

I frown, "It’s a serious question."

He wipes the smile off of his face. "Is this serious enough an expression for you?"

"Hmm." I huff. "When did you learn to shoot?

"I didn’t?" He raises a shoulder. "I saw the gun lying next to the man on the floor. I picked it up and when I saw him aiming the gun at the both of you, I followed my instinct and shot at the guy. I got lucky."

"Wasn’t that difficult for you?" I swallow. "After all, you were…are a priest."

"Not anymore," he mutters. "Certainly not, after I’ve broken my vows in every form imaginable."

"Don’t you have to tell the Church or something, that you are leaving them?" I frown.

"It’s the first thing I did in the morning, before I left the city. I met the Bishop and spoke to him."

"And they agreed to let you go?"

"Canonical law states that once you are ordained as a priest, the sacrament can never be erased." His lips twist. "But before I left, I asked to be laicized."

"What does that mean?"

"I can no longer function outwardly as a priest."

"Oh, Edward." I twist my fingers together. "Why did you do that? It was so important to you, being in service of the Church and your flock."

"It was," he agrees, "until I found something more important."

He peruses my features and my cheeks heat.

"I can’t accept it," I whisper. "It’s too much of a responsibility."

"It was inevitable." His sighs. "I thought I could use the strictures of the priesthood to find some semblance of normalcy. Turns out, I was wrong. I thought I had overcome the aftermath of the incident, but… I had only been biding my time."

"I am not sure I understand what you mean."

He peers up into my face, "You will…in time."

"Why don’t you tell me now?"

He raises his hand and cups my cheek. "So impatient," he murmurs, "so feisty." He runs his hand down my cheek, and twists a strand of my hair around his fingers. "So soft." He leans forward and sniffs, "I missed this." He peers into my face. "I missed you, Ava. Your touch, your scent, your little moans when you come apart in my arms, the way you kiss, how you get that little line between your eyebrows when you concentrate on something."

"Ed—"

"Let me say what’s on my mind, Eve." He places a finger on my lips. "The weeks I was away, I swore if…whenI came back, I wouldn’t wait anymore. The distance I put between us showed me how important you are to me."

Heat spools off of his body, embraces me, cocoons me in a familiar bubble of contentment. This is Ed, remember, the man you fell head over heels in love with? The man who turned his back on everything he held dear, for you. "You still left," I whisper.

"Can you ever forgive me for that?" He winds the strands of hair around his palm and tugs. I lean in closer, until my mouth is poised just above his, until I am sharing his breath.

"I wish I could say that, given a choice, I wouldn’t do it again," he whispers, "but it’s what helped me sort through the thoughts in my head. It’s what made me realize what you mean to me."

"It’s what mademerealize that maybe what we had was not completely right for me."

His brow furrows. "What do you mean?"

"Never mind." I shake my head. "That didn’t come out right."

I rise to my feet and he grabs my arm. "Tell me what you’re thinking, Eve."