“Can I come in?”
If she turned on the light, she’d see the tent I was pitching with my blankets. Thank God she didn’t. I adjusted myself with a wince. “Of course. Come here.”
The door opened wider before closing again, cloaking us in darkness. I heard Lex’s feet on the carpet as she padded over to me.
“I can’t sleep.”
“Me either.” I swallowed hard before I asked, “Do you want to join me?”
“Yes,” she breathed on a whisper.
I pulled back the covers. “Come here.”
I was hit with all-too-familiar sensations as she joined me. The peach smell was nearly my undoing. If we hadn’t been in this awkward limbo, she would have snuggled into my side and placed her hand across my abdomen. Instead she kept some space between us and lay facing me. Our breaths mingled. I wanted her. All of her.
A few minutes passed in silence.
“Drake?” I could hear the worry in her voice.
“Yeah, baby. I’m still awake.”
She took a deep breath. “What if my dad really did write that letter?”
Her sadness tore through me. I knew this wasn’t over yet. There was no way it could be. The situation had my heart and mind warring with each other, which meant it had to be a full-scale war for Lex. I’d hoped to have more time to make us stronger as we dealt with this. But time hadn’t been my friend for a while.
I reached out and rubbed my thumb over her hip. “Then you’ll need to decide what to do.”
Lex ducked her head to muffle a sob. “I don’t want to live without you, Drake. These last two years have been miserable. I just can’t do it.”
“Then don’t.”
She didn’t say anything else as we lay in silence. Is she having second thoughts? I wanted to ask but wasn’t sure if I wanted to hear the answer. Lex had left me once before. Will she be able to do it again?
At some point, a worried sleep claimed me.
Chapter Fourteen
Drake
“Drake.”
I jolted in bed and reached for Lex. She was already sitting up. “Lex, are you okay?”
It was still dark, and I was nearly blinded when she turned on the light. There were dark circles underneath her eyes, and she looked exhausted. “Can we talk?”
Oh shit. The three words no man wanted to hear. They rarely began a good conversation. I sat up straighter and looked at the clock. It was almost five in the morning. “What’s on your mind?”
“I’ve been thinking…”
And those were three more words I didn’t want to hear.
I knew I had to proceed carefully. “And…”
She lay her hand on my cheek. “I can’t walk away from you again. Even if Dad wrote the letter, I can’t. Dad wanted me happy. I’m happy with you.”
In one swift motion, I pulled Lex into my lap. “I don’t think I could either. Even if you wanted to leave, I would spend every day of the rest of my life convincing you to choose me.”
She placed her hands on my chest. The intensity between us hadn’t changed. “Can you feel it, Drake?”