Sean squeezes my hand again. “I understand.”
I glance down at our hands. “My sister knew. She suggested I sell my engagement ring to pay off the debt, but it didn’t belong to me. I gave it back to Dagen a week after I left him.”
“Has he been harassing you, Champ?” Sean gazes into my eyes. “Has he been after you to get it paid off?”
I shrug. “He’ll text me to say we should meet up to discuss it, or he’ll call and invite me to dinner to renegotiate the terms of the loan even though there are no terms. I’ve tried to get him to leave me alone, and he will for a few weeks, but inevitably, I always hear from him again. I think he believes there’s a chance we’ll get back together even though I’ve told him that will never happen.”
Sean leans closer to me. “He doesn’t believe that anymore, Calliope.”
My gaze searches his face, stalling at the bruised skin around his eye. “How do you know that?”
“I told him I’m in love with you,” he whispers. “I told him that one day I intend to marry you, and that means he needs to stay the fuck away from you.”
Chapter Fifty-Three
Sean
I don’t know if anything will ever spear my heart the way Calliope’s tears do.
I just confessed that I love her, and with a trembling bottom lip and tears streaming down her cheeks, she nods and the faintest of words come out of her mouth. “I love you too.”
“You love me?” I ask because I’m that guy.
I need to hear it again and again because if it’s true, I’ve just been handed the winning ticket in the life lottery.
Her hand moves to her chest to rest over the lace on the front of her sundress. “With all of my heart.”
“Every last piece of it?”
She lets out a laugh. “Yes.”
With my heart beating a victory song against my rib cage, I move in for a kiss. It’s our first kiss after professing our love for each other, so this will be filed away as one of the most memorable moments of my life.
I take her mouth softly, guiding my tongue over the seam of her lips until she parts them for me. The kiss is slow, sensual, and will stay with me until the day I die.
Her hands cup my cheeks, holding me there after the kiss breaks. “You said you want to marry me one day.”
“Tomorrow works for me.”
A soft laugh falls from her lips, her breath skimming over my cheek. “One day, I’d love to marry you.”
I won’t push because she’s mere months from the end of a serious relationship, and even though I know my heart has always been hers, I won’t push for anything she’s not ready for.
“We’ll revisit that when the time feels right for both of us,” I suggest.
She moves back slightly so she can see into my eyes. “I’m sorry you got punched today, Saint.”
I huff out a laugh. “He wanted to even the score. He got a punch in and a few choice words about me, but in the end, he’s still the same guy I knew from high school. Leon was the one who called the police. They took us both in, but ultimately I decided not to press any charges. We don’t need that guy in our lives anymore.”
“I don’t know how I ever thought he was right for me.”
I inch her chin up with my fingers. “Don’t question yourself. Maybe when you met him, he seemed like the right guy because of who you were at the time. You’ve matured since then. You’ve grown. You’re this kick ass woman with a better sense of who you are now. The past is the past, Calliope.”
She nods.
“Speaking of the past,” I carefully broach the subject I’ve wanted to since I realized she’s carrying a burden. “I’m going to put this out there one last time, but I know what you’ll say. You’re going to…”
“Pay Dagen back on my own,” she interrupts. “I have to, Sean. I know you’d clear that for me today, but I have to do it myself. I hope you understand that.”
I do, so I tell her as much. “I get it, Champ.”
Her gaze trails from my face to something behind me. “Mrs. Sweeney bought me a camera. It’s a trade, actually. The camera for the framed print she likes and another print of her grandmother’s tea shop.”
I steal a glance over my shoulder to spot a camera box. “That’s fantastic.”
“One of my dreams was to have a show at the gallery I took you to.” Her eyes stare into mine. “If I save some of my tips from the bar, I can afford to frame more of my photographs and have an exhibit opening night that people will flock to.”