Page 90 of Acceptance
Pressing her hands to her temples, she shakes her head. “You don’t even hear yourself when you speak, do you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Your son tried to kill our daughter, and he treats the club as though it’s just something he’s entitled to. You allowed him to act this way, and you put blame on Lex because he no longer wears the leather.”
“He just lost his wife!” he shouts at her. “I know what that feels like, okay? So sue me if I want to help ease the pain he feels because it’s one that never goes away.”
How can she act like this? Like his pain means nothing? She saw it firsthand twice now.
She rubs her hand over her mouth as she exhales loudly through her nose. “And what’s the excuse for the rest of his life?”
“He lost his mother.”
“Maybe you should have focused on teaching him how to cope rather than make excuses for his terrible behavior.”
This isn’t what he showed up here to talk about. He wants her to come home, not discuss his parenting. He gets enough of that from Lex. And everyone else. No one tries to hide the fact they think he’s failed as a father, and he doesn’t need to hear it from her, too. She hasn’t been a perfect mother herself.
“I love you, Emma.”
“Just not as much as you loved Maggie.”
“That’s not… You can’t compare it like that.”
She sits on the couch and sighs. “That’s what you told me at the wedding. I never felt like I was compared to her until then, and looking back, I see it now. I see how it affected us.”
“I don’t sit here and wish you were Maggie, Em.”
“I almost wish you did. It would make everything so much easier.”
How can she say that? I don’t want anyone but her.“Don’t say that.”
“It’s the truth. We’re just not meant to be, no matter how much I wish we were.”
Taking a chance, he sits beside her and kisses her. Emma doesn’t resist him, and he pushes further to deepen it. His tongue caresses hers, and he knows she feels it, too. The passion between them that has never gone away no matter how much time may pass between them.
She melts into him, her hands on his chest, and VP needs her. He needs her more than he’s ever needed anything before, and he strains against his jeans. The ache becomes nearly unbearable, and he needs to get them naked. Soon.
“Stop,” she says, pushing him away. “We can’t do this.”
“I think we’re more than capable of doing this,” he says with a cocky smirk.
Her eyes glance down at his crotch, and she stands. “No.”
“You feel it, too. I know you do.”
“It doesn’t mean it’s right, Nash.”
“Em, come on. We love each other, and I need you.”
Licking her lips, she walks to the door and holds it open. “Well, you have club bunnies to help you out with that.”
“I don’t want them. I want you.”
“And I want someone who’s capable of seeing the damage he’s caused to his children. I love Lex more than I love myself, and letting you back in would only tell her she doesn’t matter.”
“What happens between us doesn’t need to affect her. There are no messages being sent. Other than the fact we love each other and fit perfectly together while naked.”
She gives him a sad smile. “I really wish I could be as delusional as you are because I think you truly believe that. I really do, but at the end of the day, you’re not the man I thought you were.”
