Page 11 of Reckless Love
“I guess that makes sense.” Her eyes refocused and she smiled. It was kind of sad but not at all judgmental. “Leo’s a very caring guy but I understood. The more caring you are the harder it is to be truly vulnerable. His one-night-stands and weekend sex parties made sense even if I did want him to find something deeper with someone. What about you, Esme?Were you hiding or protecting yourself or what?”
There wasn’t a drop of accusation in her voice. If anything Marie was hoping to be helpful. There was so much care in her words and tenderness in her eyes. I wanted to hug her but didn’t.
“I was with Luke and Daniel to save myself as much as I was with them to tear my world apart,” I whispered.
She nodded. “And after? Is thatpart true too?”
“Yes. That was survival.”
She smiled softly at me. “And now?”
I sniffled because damn it all I was tearing up just thinking about how happy I was with Leo. “I think you know how we met. I’m as surprised as anyone at where we are now. I love him and I want to make him happy.” I glanced around the room until I found him smiling and laughing with Greg. “If I havemy research and Leo then I have pretty much everything I could ever want.”
There were parts of my past that were incredible. Being in a long-term relationship with Daniel and Luke had its up and downs but at the core, we were three people who were desperate to survive and only knew one way to get through our pain. I was neverin lovewith them and they were never in love with me. Therewere times when I didn’t think I’d ever be happy with one person, that it wasn’t possible to be in a relationship over many years because of how often circumstances changed. But now I knew there were some people who were more than a friend, more than a partner in the bedroom, more than a companion in life. There were some people, like Leo, who were your other half.
