Page 176 of Tied to You

“That’s understandable.” Mads messaged me when she found there’d been trouble. I wanted desperately to go to her—to all of them. Knowing it wouldn’t have been the right time for Travis, kept me away.

He exhales. “Wish I could make it better somehow, you know?”

I press my lips together. When he called and told me what happened with the club, I knew life was about to change for everyone involved. Including me. “I know.” The kettle finishes boiling and I start my task of making tea. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Helping Dean the way you did, it’s more than enough.”

I turn, catching him shaking his head, remembering everything they’ve been through. “I didn’t really end up doing anything. It was Jack who got him out.”

“Still. You being here is enough.” We exchange a look and get caught in each other’s webs. He’s telling me everything he wants to with his eyes. They dazzle, the years not fading the spirit of the man I remember. Sure, he’s rougher around the edges, but it only makes him more beautiful to me.He’s mature. More distinguished. More bikerman, than biker boy.

My face hardens when my eyes then trace the subtle lines across his face, showing how long we’ve been apart. “Is it? Enough, I mean.” Because I know how I feel inside. I know that seeing him made everything feel raw. It hurt so much when I came back and saw him. Our chaos. Our fight. The way we left things… it hurt so God damn much.

But I could feel again, and that pain only reminded me of why and how we worked. Our connection—what we have, it’s the most powerful thing in the world.

Love.

With a sigh, Travis stands and walks over to me.

I pause, my hands gripping the counter behind me. This isn’t the closest we’ve been in recent weeks, but it’s the first time we haven’t wanted to kill each other.

I know what he’s doing. I know this is his way. Talking without words. Showing me what he wants to say. He stops in front of me. “My heart never stopped beating for you, Mollie. Only you.” He steps further into my space.

“Don’t,” I say panicking. Truth is, I want his hands all over me, but the years, the time… “Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

He growls, sending a shiver down my spine. “I don’t lie when it comes to you, baby.”

Baby.

My heart delivers a killer blow behind my ribs. A beat I haven’t felt as strongly since the beat he first made it miss. It’s like I’m falling all over again, plummeting to the bottom of the cliff. Unlike when he left and told me he never wanted to see me again, there’s no hitting rock bottom this time. No thud. No crack of my breaking bones.

His hand lifts to my face, and I curl my cheek into it, keeping my eyes on his.

He’s catching me. Arms wide, he’s making sure this time I don’t break.

And I’m saved. After eleven years, he’s here.

For reasons unknown to me, my head begins telling me I don’t deserve this. Not only does the guilt I feel for Henry ache like a tearing sensation in my heart, but Travis and I were so cruel to one another, said things we both didn’t mean. Made each other believe things that simply were not true.

I know how fortunate I was to know love after Travis. My love for Henrywas pure and sweet. It was peace, love and always joy.

It just wasn’t,this.

The way he strokes my cheek, taking me in, I can’t help wondering if another woman held a piece of his heart in my absence. I have to know if he was happy. I have to know he lived his life. “Did you find love, Travis?”

His eyes drop to my lips. “I found it, baby. The day I met you.”

My heart swoops as my head lifts to him. “You didn’t let another woman love you?” I lift a hand to his chest. “You never let another woman in?” The years we’ve been apart, he can’t have spent them alone. I never truly believed he didn’t want to see me again, but to not have enjoyed his life? A great wave of sorrow sweeps over me like a cold breeze.

Taking my hand in his, he places it over his heart. “There wasn’t any room.”

My lips part on a lost breath, a sob catching in my throat.

“Did Henry love you like you needed, baby?”

My eyes close. I can feel the wetness beginning to gather in my eyes. “More than that.” When I open them, the look in his greys is desolate. His face is etched with sadness. “He made me happy,” I answer truthfully. “He was a great dad to Riley.”

He takes a breath. “Sounds like he took care of everything where I couldn’t.”