“Katharine.” His eyes flash with such anguish it levels me. He can barely speak. “If this… if the baby—” His voice cracks. “—If it isn’t mine… if it’s Grayson’s… I’m not going to tear apart a family. I’m not going to stand between you and Dunn. I’m not that guy.”
“There is nome and Dunn. There’s only you and me.”
“I want to believe you. I really do,” Wyatt says softly, in a voice that breaks my heart. “But… How can I, when every time I turn around, you’re with him?”
“I didn’t want anything to do with the fake relationship!” I protest, tears filling my eyes. “It wasn’t my choice.”
“I know, baby. That’s not what I’m talking about at all.”
I sniffle. “It’s not?”
“No. I know you didn’t want any part in that. I know Dunn manipulated the situation. But it doesn’t change the fact that every time I see you with him, every time his hands are on you, or his lips, or even his damn eyes, I want to break him in half. And, if this baby is his, it will never end. He’ll be in your life forever, one way or another. Inexplicably enmeshed in every part of your existence.” His shoulders heave like he’s carrying the weight of the world on them. “I need to think about whether or not I can handle that.”
“Wyatt…” Tears stream down my face unchecked. “Wyatt, please…”
I don’t even know what I’m begging for, anymore. I just know I don’t want him to go. I know, if he walks out my door, there’s a very good chance he’ll never walk back through it.
I’m losing him.
I’m losing the love of my life, after I’ve finally found him.
He crosses to me and presses a kiss to my forehead. I feel a tear hit my skin, and I know I’m not the only one with wet eyes.
“I love you,” he says fiercely, voice muffled as he buries his head in my hair.
“Then why does it sound like you’re saying goodbye?” I whisper.
His arms wind around my back and he pulls me close, just for a moment. I squeeze my eyes shut and breathe him in.Old books and aftershave. I memorize the way he feels wrapped around me.Safe. Strong. Like home.
Far too soon, he lets me go.
He steps back, putting careful distance between us. His eyes are red when they find mine.
“It’s not goodbye. Not forever. I just… I need some time. I need some space, away from you, to think about this. Because, when I’m near you, my head is so caught up in loving you, I can’t even see straight. I can’t think. I can’t breathe. I can’t do anything except love you.”
I nod, not trusting myself to speak again. Knowing, if I open my mouth, I’ll beg him to stay.
He stares at me for one, two, three long seconds — the longest seconds of my life — and then he turns and walks out.
This morning, I woke up in his arms.
Twelve hours later, I have already lost him.
* * *
Isit in the dark, crying until I run out of tears. The sun set long ago and I haven’t turned on any of the lights. Even with every switch in the house fully illuminated, nothing would be different.
I carry the darkness inside me. No 60-watt bulb can change that.
When I hear the click of my front door opening, my heart leaps.
He came back.
I’m so relieved, I don’t think about the fact that I didn’t hear a car pull into the driveway. I don’t consider the very real possibility that it might not be Wyatt at all, as my feet race across the hardwood floor. I round a bend, barely breathing, already planning to rush into his arms and kiss him until he realizes that we’re meant to be together…
And stop short when I catch sight of the figure standing in my living room. The only light comes from a small lamp in the corner — just bright enough to see that it’s not Wyatt. The shoulders are too narrow, the build too slender.
It’s a woman, I think stupidly. My brain feels sluggish, moving at half speed as I process what I’m seeing.