by K. Street
I forgive you.
I forgive you.
I. Forgive. You.
Each time I say the words, they’re spoken with more conviction than the last. I keep repeating them until every syllable seeps through my pores and saturates my soul. My fingers push against the piercing sensation in my chest. An invisible needle weaves through my mangled heart, suturing it together once more.
Using the sleeves of my sweater, I wipe my tearstained cheeks and stand.
I touch two fingers to my lips, peck them with a kiss, and press them against his name carved into the stone. “Good-bye, Trevor.”
Leaving the past behind…I walk toward my future, and this time, I’m done looking back.
fifty-two
Dante
I take one last look around the bedroom to make sure everything is perfect before I go back into the kitchen. The wine is uncorked and sitting on the counter. There’s plenty of food in the fridge, and all I need is for Tessa to show up. The anticipation of seeing her vibrates through me.
There’s a knock on the door, and when I pull it open, Tessa crumbles into my arms before I can even say a word.
I hold on to her, stroking her hair. “Shh. Sweetheart, I’ve got you. Don’t cry.”
“D-Dante.”
“I’m here, baby.” I plant several kisses against her hair. “Come on. Let’s get you settled. I’m going to grab your bag. Go sit on the couch.”
She reluctantly lets go and moves to sit on the sofa while I haul her suitcase inside, close the door, and sit next to her.
“R-remember how I-I told you I-I had to do something?”
“Yes.” I take her hand in mine.
“I w-went to th-the—” She stops to take a deep breath and begins again. “I went to the cemetery. I needed to talk to Trevor.” More tears spill down her cheeks, but she sounds calmer.
I had a feeling that was where she was going, and I almost drove out there, but I knew she wouldn’t want an audience. I draw Tessa into me and wait for her to continue.
“I didn’t want him between us anymore, and for that to happen, I had to forgive him.”
For a second, I don’t breathe. “What’re you saying, baby?”
“Let me show you.” She uses my words from that day. The day I told her I loved her.
Then, she takes me by the hand and leads us down the hall to my bedroom. I make no move to stop her. She gasps when she catches sight of the room. Her reaction makes all the trouble and expense worth it. Tessa lets go of me and walks to the nightstand to finger the petals. Scattered glass vases filled with white daisies sit on every flat surface throughout the room.
“Dante, it’s beautiful.” Her whole damn face lights up, and if I wasn’t already in love with her…I wouldn’t stand a chance.
Tessa isn’t the kind of woman who needs diamonds or those shoes with the red bottoms. She wants someone to put in the time. To make her feel like she’s worth the effort. Trevor never understood that about her.
“I missed you so fucking much.” I stalk toward her.
Slowly, she begins stripping out of her clothes. First, the sweater, followed by the boots, until she’s standing before me in nothing but a sheer black bra and matching thong. Candlelight bathes every subtle curve of her body.
“You take my breath away.” The pad of my thumb grazes her cheek, and I grow hard beneath my jeans. I lean in close and then drag my lips over hers, gently kissing her.
“Dante,” she says against my mouth.
“Tess,” I say into hers.
“I love you.”
I freeze, not sure if I heard her right. “What?”
Tessa flattens a palm against each cheek and tilts my head down, so our gazes meet. Then, she says, “Dante, I love you. I love you for so many reasons. How you quietly loved me and never acted on it. I can’t imagine how hard it was for you. I see it so clearly now. And, if you give me the chance, I’ll show you how much you mean to me. I’m in love with you.”
“I’ve waited too fucking long to hear you say those words. Do you have any idea what you do to me, baby? I love you so much.”
Her hands slide to the bottom of my shirt, and I lean down, so she can tug it off. Then, she frees me from my jeans and boxers. Tessa kneels in front of me, looking like an angel. My cock is hard, and I need to be inside her. I’m about to tell her as much when she wraps her hand around my base and covers my crown with her mouth.
My fingers tangle in her hair. “Baby, your mouth feels so good.”
She glides slowly up and down my shaft, swirling her tongue over my tip. She slides her hand to cup my balls and increases her suction on my dick.
“Fuck.”
It’s been too long, and she feels too good.
She’s in love with me, which means she’s mine, and the first time I come will not be in her mouth.
“Baby, get up. Not like this. I want to be inside you.”
Tessa sucks even harder before finally releasing me with a pop. I help her stand, back her against the bed, and then reach behind her to unclasp her bra. I bend my head and run my tongue over one pebbled nipple and then the other.
“Dante?” Her word is breathy.
“What is it, baby?”
“I’m yours.”
Those two words hit me straight in the heart. “Tess…” I’m at a loss.
I drag her panties down and toss them aside. My hands move to the backs of her legs and tug her ass to the edge of the bed. Dropping to my knees, I spread her open and slide my tongue up her slit. “I forgot how good you tasted.”
Smooth pink lips, her scent—everything about her is so damn sexy.
Her fingers run through my hair, and when I suck her clit, she digs her nails into my scalp. “You’re so damn good at that,” she moans.
I want to bring her to the brink but not tip her over it. When I come, I’ll be inside her, and I want us to do it together. I insert two fingers and continue the assault with my tongue. When she starts to ride my hand, I pull out my fingers and get up.
She growls in frustration.
“Do I need a condom?”
“No.” She shifts her body to the head of the bed.
I climb onto the mattress and spread her legs wide before positioning my cock at her entrance. Bracing my weight on my forearms, I push inside her and then pull almost all the way out before repeating the motion. Every time my bare cock sinks into her warm pussy feels fucking incredible.
“Dante. Harder. Please.”
“Hold on, baby.” I drive into her, causing her to cry out.
“Ah.”
Her nails dig into my back as I thrust into her. It doesn’t take long before I’m close.
“Use your fingers to rub your clit, baby.”
One hand leaves my back and drifts to her pussy. “Yes. Oh God. Dante.”
I feel her walls tighten. “Are you close?”
“So close.”
My mouth is on hers, hot and demanding. Tangling tongues and gnashing teeth. Her pussy clenches around my cock, and I arch my back and thrust hard and deep. Seconds later, I explode inside her.
fifty-three
Tessa
A sheen of sweat covers my forehead. Dante drags the tip of his tongue over my collarbone. He’s still hard inside me, and I wrap my legs around him, forcing his cock deeper and sending an aftershock rolling through me.
“Oh my God.”
“Damn, baby,” he growls against my neck.
I realize now that Dante was holding back before. This time was different and not just because I let him come inside me. He needed to hear me say the words. Confessing my love for Dante freed something inside him.
My fingernails graze his back, causing goose bumps to prickle his flesh. I move up to the nape of his neck before dragging my nails over his scalp. Candlelight suffuses the entire room, and my soul breathes a content sigh. I’m overwhelmed with how much I feel for him.
“I love you, Dante. I don’t think I knew how much u
ntil just now,” I whisper against his ear.
He braces himself on his forearms and sweeps his thumb across my cheek. Our eyes meet, and his own shine with emotion.
“You can’t understand what those words do to me. I love you with all that I am, and I will spend every day trying to show you how much. I want you to have my babies, and someday, when you’re ready, I want you to be my wife.”
His words shouldn’t come as a shock, but they do.
“You want to have a family?”
“Baby, I want it all with you.”
His mouth drops to mine, and I feel him grow hard inside me once more. The kiss starts off slow, fanning the flame until we’re both consumed by the fire again.
When we finally manage to drag ourselves out of bed after round two, I start a hot bath for us while Dante goes into the kitchen for wine. When he returns, the tub is half-full, and I’m already inside with bubbles building all around me. He gives me the wine glasses, and I scoot up to allow him enough space to settle in behind me. Once he’s situated, I lie back with my head on his chest and pass the drink to him.
Dante lifts the liquid to his lips. “Tess, this is really good.”
“I told you.”
He brushes the hair off my shoulder and rubs his fingers over the curve of my neck. “Where do you see yourself ten years from now?”
I ponder his question and take my time before answering, “With you, a couple of kids, and possibly a dog. In a different city…Boston maybe? Somewhere besides Chicago. Would you be willing to leave Chicago? I know this is home for you.”
“Do you remember when we were driving back from Charleston?”
“I do.”
“You told me that, when you fall in love, home stops being a place. It becomes a person.” He sets his glass on the edge of the tub. Then, he places his thumb under my chin, angling my face to him, eyes full of conviction. “You are my home. Wherever you are…that’s where I’ll be.”
Dante tenderly kisses me before reaching for his glass, and my heart nearly bursts with happiness and relief.
“Boston, huh?”
“Maybe.”
“Are you going to start cheering for the Bruins?”
I roll my eyes. “That depends.”
“On what?”
“Whether hell has frozen over.”
He starts laughing. “How many kids?”
“Two or three. How do you feel about a golden retriever?”
“You’ve given this a lot of thought, haven’t you?”
It’s all there, in the journals I plan to give to him later. “Maybe.”
“Tess, whenever you decide you want to stop taking the pill, I’m on board.”
“Really? Just like that?” I set my empty glass on the floor and twist to face him, sending water sloshing over the side of the tub.
“Baby, I’m thirty-six years old. I’m ready for whatever comes next as long as you’re mine.”
“Wow.”
“In ten years…are we married?”
“Do we really need to talk about all of this now?”
He raises an eyebrow at me and then drops it. “Look, I get it if you’re overwhelmed, but you have to remember, I’ve loved you for a long time, Tess. You’re just getting used to all this, but I’ve spent years imagining what it would be like if you were mine. I’m not going to pressure you. I’m not asking you to marry me today, but I am telling you that, someday, I want you to be my wife.”
“I can live with someday.”
“Are we good?”
“Yeah, we’re good.”
Just then, Dante’s stomach growls. “I need sustenance. Let’s eat.”
I pull the plug for the water to drain, and Dante reaches for a towel. Then, he steps out of the tub and onto the tiles, wrapping the towel around his waist.
He looks at me. “You’re so damn beautiful, baby. Don’t move. I have something for you.”
He walks into the bedroom and returns with a short pink robe. “Turn around for me.”
I do as he asked, and he wraps it around me. Then, he helps guide my arms through the sleeves. It’s the softest thing I’ve ever felt. Dante’s hands go to my hips, carefully spinning me back around. He ties the sash and helps me out of the tub.
I raise a cotton-covered arm to my nose and sniff. “You washed it already?”
“The salesclerk suggested it was best,” he says and bends to collect the wine glasses.
“Thank you. It’s very sweet. I love it.”
“You’re welcome, baby. I realize most men would have gone for something a bit more revealing, and there’s plenty of those in your drawer, but they don’t absorb water for shit.”
“Wait, when did you go shopping for me?”
“Last week. I took a lunch break.”
My eyes grow wide.
Dante takes in my shocked expression. “What’s the big deal?”
“I never took you for the shopping type is all and you had no idea when I’d be back.”
“You had one more week, and then I was going to come after you,” he deadpans.
“Is that so?”
“It is,” he says, swatting my ass, but it’s covered by the robe. “Now, can we please go eat? I’m starving.”
“Me, too.” I can’t remember when I last ate.
We blow out the candles in the bedroom on our way to the kitchen.
“I almost forgot. I have a present for you,” I tell him, trying to contain my excitement.
“You do?” His back is to me while he takes trays out of the fridge.
“Yes.” I go into the other room and open my suitcase, taking out the wrapped journals. Then, I get out the box that holds what I bought him on my last day in Seattle.
I carry the gifts into the kitchen where Dante has already made plates for us and poured us more wine.
“Here,” I say, passing him the journals.
Dante stands at the counter and carefully opens the plain package. He picks up the first leather-bound journal and turns it to the first page.
“I needed a way to work through everything,” I explain. “I didn’t think sitting on a couch and spilling my guts to a stranger would work for me. I decided to keep a journal, and since I’m too old for a diary…I wrote to you instead.”
“Tess, I don’t even know what to say. You want me to read them?”
“Dante, you’re my best friend, and you’ve always owned a piece of my heart. I knew, if we were going to have a relationship, I had to let you in. Those journals were my way of doing that, even when I couldn’t.”
He takes me in his arms and tenderly kisses me. “I love you.”
“I know you do. I love you, too. I got you something else.”
“You did?”
I step out of his arms and reach for the box before moving it closer to him. “I saw it after I booked my flight, and I was drawn to it. It’s more symbolic, but it would look great, hanging in your bedroom.”
He grabs a knife from the drawer while I shift the journals over and try to hop up onto the counter.
“Here.” Dante sets the knife down, so he can lift me, and then he reaches for the blade again.
Dante slides it under the tape, and I hold back the cardboard flaps while he lifts it out of the box. The shiny material catches the light as he places it on the counter. Then, he traces a finger over it. It’s a mended heart welded from steel with a hook on the back. It appears broken, but a piece of metal was manipulated in a way that holds the two parts together, making it look as though it’s stitched.
“My heart is beaten and battered but no longer broken. You loved me when I was in pieces.” My voice grows thick with emotion. “I can’t promise you there won’t be rough days ahead.” I glance to the ceiling, trying to keep the tears at bay before finding his eyes again. “I swear to you”—my finger taps the cool surface of the artwork—“that my Frankenstein heart is all yours.”
I laugh through my tears, and he joins in before the moment t
urns serious.
Dante rests his forehead on mine. “Tess, I give you my word, as long as I live…I’ve got you.”
epilogue
Dante
Ten Years Later
It’s just after seven in the morning, and I’m lying in bed, watching my wife sleep. This never gets old.
It took me five years and a dozen proposals to wear Tessa down.
I sold S&S before we left Chicago to move to Boston. Since hell hasn’t frozen over, we don’t cheer for the Bruins.
I watch the clock. The boys should be knocking on our bedroom door at any second.
Three. Two. One.
“Mommy.”
Tap. Tap. Tap.
“Daddy.”
Boom.
Tessa peers up at me through a cracked lid. “Tell me again how those two shared a womb.”
“Mommy. Daddy.” Their little boy voices join in unison.
“You can come in!” I holler.
Cade and Colt, our five-year-old twins, bound into the room and onto the bed.
“Mommy, where’s my soccer stuff? You should get out of bed. We’re going to be late,” Colt singsongs.
“Buddy, we’re not going to be late. Your soccer game doesn’t start until ten.”
Cade settles on the bed, cuddling up to Tessa, and kisses her cheek. “Good morning, Mommy. I love you.”
“I love you, too, baby,” Tessa says, still not awake.
“What about me?” Colt demands.
Tessa holds her arms out, and we all shift to make room. “I love you, too, monkey.”
I open my mouth to tell the boys they can go watch TV while Tessa rests for a little longer when our oldest appears at the door.
A smile lights my face. “Good morning, peanut.”
“Morning, Daddy.”
Bailey is nine and is the miniature version of her mother. She’s an old soul and wise beyond her years.
“Mom, do you want me to get breakfast for the boys?”
“I want chocolate chip pancakes!” Colt yells.
“No. I want bacon and eggs. Oh, and Pop-Tarts,” Cade argues.