West
She’s mad.
The moment she walks in, I see the scowl, the annoyance in her eyes, the rigidness of her posture.
Yup. Really pissed off.
It’s kind of hot.
But I can’t think about that right now because Joey has launched himself at me and is talking a million miles a minute.
“…and we played skeet ball and air hockey and there’s a Pokemon game—do you play pinball? West, when are we going to play hockey? Can we go to your house? I think?—”
“Easy, big guy,” I say, ruffling his hair. “Mommy and I have to talk. Then we can figure out hockey. Okay?”
He frowns but nods. “I have to go potty!”
“I’ll keep him in his room,” Holly murmurs, going after Joey. “You two should talk.”
“Traitor.” It’s barely discernible, but I hear Serena’s muttered response.
“Hi.” I walk over to her slowly.
“Why are you here?” she demands.
“I made a mistake,” I say. “I fucked up. I’m sorry, angel.”
“Don’t call me that.” The set of her jaw tells me she’s more hurt than angry, but I’m not leaving until I’ve won her over.
“How come?” I ask softly. “Because you are my angel.”
“Obviously not.”
Our gazes lock, and I stare into her beautiful gray eyes.
“I’ve never used that term of endearment before,” I say thoughtfully. “Babe, baby, honey—those are my go-tos with women. But with you…the moment I saw you, it felt like you were an angel sent to me.”
That seems to leave her speechless, and she just stares back at me.
I reach out a hand, gently brushing my knuckles across her cheek. “So beautiful and sweet and exactly what I needed in my life, even though I didn’t realize it at first. That’s why you’re my angel.”
“I don’t have wings, and I’m definitely not some kind of divine messenger,” she whispers, though her voice is gentler now.
“Maybe not, but you did bring me a message—love. Whether it came from God or fairies or cloud people, I don’t know and don’t care. All I know is, I fell in love with you almost the first minute I saw you. When you asked me if I was a serial killer.”
One side of her lip twitches, like she’s fighting really hard not to smile.
“And the more I got to know you, the more I realized you were it for me.”
“But you don’t trust me.”
I pull in a deep breath and then let it out. “I do. I was…insecure. Having a pity party. I don’t know what the fuck I thought I was doing but when I realized I’d jumped to conclusions and made a terrible mistake, it was like someone ripped my heart out of my chest. Not only did I fuck up, but I hurt you, and that nearly killed me. Then I got home and you were gone. I looked around my empty bedroom…that’s when I knew for sure I couldn’t live without you.”
“That doesn’t solve the trust issues.”
“I’m so, so sorry, angel. I know I fucked up, but I swear to you, on my life, it’ll never happen again.”
“Why wouldn’t you even let me explain?” she whispers, her eyes filling with tears. “Wasn’t I worth a conversation?”