“I’m sorry,” she finally said, in a voice so gentle I barely heard her.
“For what?” I asked. I needed to hear her say it.
“It wasn’t a mistake. You, Grant—you weren’t a mistake. You could never be.”
I watched tears form in her eyes, and I wanted to reach out and brush them away before they spilled down her cheeks, but my stubborn pride got in the way.
So, I stood and leaned against the railing I’d just installed.
“We’re done for real. He came back to ‘give me a chance to change my mind’, but I told him to kiss my ass.”
I grunted and nodded my head as I cast my gaze on the glowing horizon. I had nothing nice to say about that pathetic little weasel. Nighttime would soon be upon us, and it would get cold. Theresa didn’t look like she was dressed for the dropping temperatures at all. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to resist wrapping her up in my arms once the cold set in if she started shivering.
And we were at her brother’s house.
Across the street from her father.
This was a very bad concoction, and she’d been through enough.
“So, I guess I just wanted to say that,” Theresa said.
I nodded and watched as she pushed herself up from the chair.
Even though she was distraught, she walked taller. She wasn’t looking down at her feet, and her shoulders were rolled back a bit. The faintest tug of a grin ticked my cheek as I watched her walk away, and suddenly it dawned on me.
The one question I did want to ask her.
“What does it mean?” I asked.
“What?”
Theresa spun around on her heel to face me, a question in her eyes.
“The tattoo on your thigh. The small lily.”
“You saw that,” she said with a sigh.
“I saw everything last night. Saw it and memorized it.”
I watched her cheeks flush, and I suppressed the grin trying to escape.
“It’s for my mom. Lilies were her favorite flower,” Theresa said.
Then she turned and walked down the front steps.
I stood there silently as I heard her car backing out of the driveway. My stomach was in knots, and my mind swirled with confusion. This woman had me tied up in fucking knots. The job was done. I had come here to make sure that she was okay. To make sure that she was happy and being treated the way she deserved to be treated. To see her take herself back and be the woman I always knew she would become. She was no longer with the abusive piece of shit, and I was convinced that she would be okay. Seeing her walk taller and with more confidence only soli
dified the thought that she was going to be all right after all this.
I had work piling up back home and a company that needed me. My foremen were blowing up my phone, and the investors in a new project my company was about to start were threatening to pull the plug if I didn’t get my ass back to Boston to meet with them ASAP.
So why was I still here? Why was I rooted to a place that had caused me so much pain?
I knew why. I was here for her.
CHAPTER 11
THERESA