Page 109 of Whiskey Wednesdays
We ate dinner together, then Connor and I went back to his house to watch a movie with Elodie. She fell asleep halfway through. While Connor woke her up enough to brush her teeth and get her tucked in, I got ready for bed with the toiletries and clothes I’d left behind when I’d fled Connor’s house a few weeks ago.
Everything was exactly where I left it. I stared at his massive bed and looked around his bedroom, smelling his sandalwood scent and seeing a few of his small personal items scattered around. I wasn’t ready to share this room with him.
After putting on a t-shirt and sleep shorts, I padded to the bedroom where I’d stored some of my things. Connor told me if I came back I could stay in a guest bedroom, and I was going to take him up on it. I tossed and turned for almost an hour. When he didn’t come after me, I finally drifted off to sleep. Only to wake up when the bed shifted.
Adrenaline and lust hit my system, and I was suddenly wide awake. “You said I could sleep in the guest bedroom if I came back,” I whispered.
He sat on the bed next to me. “I did. But I never said I wouldn’t be sleeping in it with you,” he murmured back.
“Huh. I missed that big, fat loophole.” I sat up and started swinging my feet off the bed. “Then I’ll go sleep in my dad’s spare bedroom.”
He laid a hand on my thigh. “I won’t stay. I just want to talk.”
After a minute, I pulled my feet back on the bed. “Okay.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t the one to tell you about the marriage. I was married on paper, but that’s it. She was never my girlfriend or wife. And she sure as fuck wasn’t anything to Elodie.”
I tried to study his face in the darkness. “You hurt me. You lied by not telling me.”
“I did. And I’m sorry I hurt you. I was afraid after the way we met, you wouldn’t have given me the time of day if you knew I was married. God, you were this beautiful, angry, innocent woman. You’re so different from anyone I’ve ever been with. You didn’t give a single fuck about my money or hockey career. I sometimes think my own goddamned family cared more about it than me.”
Old wounds echoed in his voice.
“They were stupid then,” I murmured.
“You also love Elodie like she’s your own daughter even though I royally fucked things up. I couldn’t stay away, and I didn’t want to lose you.”
A few tears leaked out, but I ignored them. “You let me start falling…” I trailed off.
“Say it, Isabella. Say it.” He leaned over me.
“No, damn you.”
“Elodie and I have been mired down in craziness and hate for five fucking years. So Ineedyou to love me. To love her. I fucking crave it.”
My shoulders shook, and I tried to cover my face with my hands. He gently pulled them away and wrapped his arms around me. “I’m sorry, love. I’m so fucking sorry. Please stay with us.”
His soft words seeped into the aching hole in my heart as he sat there rocking me.
When I finally quieted down, I slowly wrapped my arms around him. “Don’t freeze me out, or lie to me again. Or I swear to God, I will make you rue the day you ever met me.”
He squeezed me hard against him and let out a long sigh. “I promise.”
Chapter 31
Titus brought me coffee and a chocolate doughnut on Tuesday morning as a peace offering. “I’m sorry I made you mad,choux,” he said as he set them down on the counter next to me.
“Would you do it again?”
“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “But just remember, I’d keep your secrets too.”
I picked up the doughnut, contemplated that for a few seconds, then took a bite. “Okay.”
Coach Bailey still wouldn't talk to me or make eye contact. I didn’t care, but I noticed he used some of the same tactics with team members. In my opinion, it was an asinine way to coach.
After practice, Titus lay on his stomach on the massage table in the medical office with a towel draped over his hips. Phyllis, the trainer, worked a few kinks out in his lower back with her elbow, and Titus groaned in pain.
She smirked when he started swearing in French. “You’ll thank me later, Tremblay.”
