He was still looking when I recalled Chloe's question. Had I worked off the loan by fighting?
With my gaze still on the stranger, I nodded. "It was the one thing I was actually good at. And for whatever reason, people liked to watch."
Chloe voice, warmer now, drifted over to me. "I can see why."
The warmth in her voice – warmth I hadn't heard in a while now – made me want to smile. Slowly, I turned to look at her. "Yeah?"
Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were bright. She was looking at me the way she used to, before everything had gone to hell.
"Yeah." Chloe said in a voice that was almost breathless. "Totally."
Her lips were parted, and she gave me that look – the one that made my pulse jump and my jeans grow tight. I wanted to kiss her. The way it looked, she wouldn't say no.
I shoved that thought aside. I wouldn't be kissing her, not here, as much as I wanted to – and not because of the guy heading toward us.
Him, I could keep an eye out for, and handle him just fine if it came to that. But who else was watching? I didn't know, and that was a problem.
It was time to get on with the story.
"So anyway," I continued, "one fight led to another. Every time, the money got a little better. And then there was that fight video that made the rounds." I shook my head. "I still don't know how that got out. The organizers weren't too happy about that."
"Because the fights were illegal?" she asked.
"That and taxes."
"Taxes?"
"Yeah. They didn't like to pay them."
"Oh." In the passenger's seat, Chloe gave a little jump as she spotted the guy weaving his way toward us. He stopped to peer in the window of a Buick – some rusty brown thing with a cracked front windshield.
"You know him?" Chloe asked.
I shook my head. "Not from before. And not from now either. Inevercome back here."
"So why today?" she said. "And why with me?"
"Because there's something I need to say." I turned sideways in the car to face her. "It's about what happened. What I did to you."
Her gaze was locked on mine. "What about it?"
I looked down and shook my head. "It wasn't right. I'm not stupid. I know that. Shit, I knew it at the time. And why I couldn’t stop myself–" I looked up again, meeting Chloe's gaze head-on. "I am so fucking ashamed of myself, I can't even tell you."
Her breathing grew shallow, but she didn't move. Was that a good sign? Or bad?
I reached for her hand. "You're my dream girl, Chloe. You've got to believe that." I thought of all those years without her, even before I knew her name. "I wished for you, and here you are, everything I ever imagined. Yeah, I won't lie. I've been with a lot of girls. But there's been nobody like you."
The way it looked, she wanted to believe it. "Really?" she said.
I nodded, never breaking eye contact. "I mean it. I love you. I should've told you sooner. And I should've done a better job of showing it. But if you just give me one more chance, I swear to you, you won't regret it."
Chapter 29
Her breath caught, and her eyes warmed. The way it looked, I definitely had her attention.
I went on. "I want to tell you something else. And I'm dead serious. The things I've told you today, I've never told anyone."
Her eyes filled with tears. "Ever?"
