Page 50

The dull feeling in my chest sparks with hope a bit at the realization that she told Hannah about us.

“So you know?” She nods, a sad smile playing on her face.

“Is it that bad?” I cringe. Did I ruin things before we even really got a chance to start?

Did I react so poorly that I pushed the woman I love away to the point she won’t come back?

A frown shadows her features as she looks up at me. “Yes, I know. No, it’s not that bad. We had a good talk about it.” She sighs as she spins her wedding ring on her finger, and I’m sudden ly brought back to the last night I spent wrapped up in Abby.

Her leg was thrown over my hip, head on my shoulder, while her hand laid on my chest. I was twisting the ring on her thumb back and forth while she told me about her dream vacation. “I thought she would have come here to work things out, she wants to. I think she’s scared.”

She interrupts my thoughts, and I’m brought back to the first part of her sentence.

“Wait, did you say she didn’t show up for work?

” That’s so unlike her. She loves her job, and she wouldn’t just not show up without telling anyone unless something happened.

“Do you have any of her brother’s phone numbers? ”

She fumbles with her phone, scrolling through until she finds Dex’s number. It rings a few times before he answers. “Hey Hannah, what’s up?” he says, the wind loud in the background.

“Do you happen to know where my bestie is? She didn’t show up for work today.” She frowns as he laughs.

“She’s in Georgia. Left last night, said she needed to get her head together.

Something about going back to where it started.

She didn’t tell anyone she was gone?” I don’t stay to listen to the rest of the conversation before I’m hopping down the hall on one foot as fast as I can, throwing clothes in a bag, and checking flights on my phone.

I could drive, but I don’t want to wait eight hours.

My mind is running through every obstacle she could throw my way while planning my rebuttal for every one of them.

She walked away once, I won’t let her do it again.

Not when my heart sits here bleeding for her.

Sure, she lied, but so did I. I was chasing River around for months, only to find out she was right about him not being involved.

I don’t even notice Hannah come in until she places her hand on my back. “What are you doing?” I look down at her, hoping to convey everything I’m feeling with a single look.

Taking a deep breath, I zip up my bag and turn fully toward her. “I’m going to get my woman.” She smiles seconds before she jumps up and down, clapping as she goes. “Take me to the airport?”

She doesn’t wait for further instruction, just sprints to the door. A laugh breaks free from my chest, and it feels so weird, but so right. It’s been almost a month since I’ve even gotten a glimpse of her, and I’m done being patient.

The car rolls to a stop outside the house we stayed at earlier this year.

All the lights are off, and I hope she decided to actually stay here.

Why would she, though? A single person in this huge house is a lot.

But then I hear the crackling of a fire, and I know I'm in the right place. I set my bags down on the side of the house and walk quietly to the backyard. Her back is to me, and she’s wrapped in a blanket.

It’s not super cold yet, currently fifty-five degrees, but my girl likes to be comfy.

“Wanna tell me why you took off without telling anyone?” I ask as I get closer.

She jumps, her hand flying to her heart as she turns and glares at me over her shoulder. “Jesus, Tate. Really?” I can’t help the sm irk that pulls at the corner of my lips. She’s beautiful. Her face softens slightly. “How did you know I was here?”

I close the distance, looking at the chairs to the side of her and deciding that’s not close enough.

I raise my eyebrow until she stands up, allowing me to sit down before settling her in my lap.

The death grip that’s held the organ in my chest hostage since the incident loosens the second her skin makes contact with mine.

She’s everything, my entire world. My home.

“Hannah came over, telling me you didn’t show up for work. ” She scoffs, “She called Dex.”

Abby’s hands go flying as she mumbles, “Freaking Dex,” under her breath. But she nuzzles further into me, putting her head in her favorite spot under my chin. “Why did you come?” she says after a beat of silence.

My arms squeeze around her a bit tighter, wishing time would speed through this conversation, while also slowing down so I can bask in the feel of her in my arms again. “I missed you. This is killing me, Tink.”

I feel her take a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds, then releasing it.

“I was never working against you, Tate.” She sniffles, wiping under her nose with her hand.

“It kills me that you even thought for a second that I would do that to you.” I know that.

Hell, I knew then she wouldn’t. But my brain told me that she was doing something shady the second it heard she talked to Owens. .. I’ve never been so pissed.

I run my hand over the back of her head, my hand snagging halfway down.

Noticing how knotted her hair is, I grab the hair tie I keep on my wrist just for her and pull her hair up into the ponytail I love so much.

Wrapping my finger around the end of it, I give it a slight pull, tilting her head back to me. “I know, Sweetheart. I’m sorry.”

I clear my throat as her eyes dart around my face, being on the receiving end of her attention right now is the best and worst part of my life.

“No, sorry doesn’t even begin to cut it,” I say, bringing her focus back to me.

“I’m a wreck over this. You are the one person who never should have been on the receiving end of my anger. ”

I pause to brush a piece of hair I missed behind her ear.

“You’ve done nothing but show me how it feels to be loved with no boundaries.

You’ve given me the best months of my life, and I threw it all away over insecurities from the past.” My head shakes as I internally beat myself up.

“I don’t deserve you. I know that with every fiber of my being, but I’m a selfish man, Abby. ”

My lips find her forehead, her eyes fluttering closed.

“There’s nothing I want more in this life than you.

I want to be the man lucky enough to stand by your side.

I want to be the arms you fall into at night.

I want to be the person you call when you hear a new song you like and will undoubtedly play five hundred times in twenty-four hours.

” My chin finds the opposite side of her head, tucking her into her favorite spot in my neck. “I just want to be yours.”

There is no me without her anymore. When I thought she was just getting under my skin for the hell of it, she was ingraining herself there. Without either of us realizing it, she used the bricks that made up the walls around my heart to build us a home. Not a chance I’m letting her go.

She wiggles out of my hold, repositioning the blanket so it’s wrapped around both of us and not in between us.

Her hand immediately pushes up the sleeve on my left arm as she starts to tra ce the veins there.

“I came here to think, I needed to clear my head. Refocus on what’s important.

” I swallow hard, a chill rolling through me.

This is it, this is where she tells me to get lost.

“I needed to remember where we started. The good times.” She leans her head against my collarbone as she continues to mindlessly run her hand up and down my forearm.

“We’ve spent way more time at each other's throats than we have like this. But this started here. And I needed the man I found here.” She tilts her head up and kisses the underside of my jaw, my eyes close at the warmth her lips bring.

“I’m glad you came to find me, Sunshine.

I really missed you.” Absolute peace washes over me.

Every out of place puzzle piece settles into its rightful spot, creating the most beautiful picture I’ve ever seen.

My hand runs down the back of her head, settling on her nape as I tilt my head down.

“I missed you, too.” I feel whole, like the Tatum I was before Nikki is finally free.

Like I can take off the mask and just exist. I can be me, I can love hard.

I can joke around with my friends and family because this woman right here loves me.

She loves me enough for both of us. She loves me on the days I don’t love myself, she loves me on the days I’m an insufferable jerk.

We sit here until the fire dies down, and then I plant my lips on her forehead one more time before setting her feet on the ground.

I bring my hand down to smack her butt, jutting my chin toward the house.

She smiles before she takes off running.

“Try to keep up, soccer star!” she yells, her squealing laughter echoing through the otherwise silent night as she goes.

I’m going to show her just how much I missed her.