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I shake my head, dusting my lips over her forehead, breathing in vanilla and petals which helps more tension to leave my shoulders.
“No. She thought they would blame her for getting pregnant and being a single mom. It wouldn’t have been acceptable to them. She never even told them I existed. That bastard broke her. Left her with nothing,” I spit. “Moved back and married some other woman. They had a baby within a year. If Mom ever considered coming back for a moment, she told me the thought of seeing him again was enough to keep her away. She couldn’t face the thought of being rejected by both him and possibly her parents if she were to come home.”
“I’m so sorry, Dax. That sounds so awful for her. For you.”
“Don’t be. She met Dad, and they had Jasmin. We were a regular family. A happy one… Until they both passed away. Our grandparents heard what had happened and found me and Jasmin. We began building a relationship with them. Then they died as well, and it was the two of us again, only we inherited the estate to run.”
Rose tightens her arm around me. “That’s one hell of a story. You’ve both done so well. The business is thriving. And I should know. I’ve seen the books.” She gives me a small smile.
“Maybe. But then I fucked it up by smashing in a guy’s face. I let Jasmin down. She lost everyone. And then she lost me too.” I clench my teeth and drag a breath in through my nose.
“I don’t think she sees it like that. It wasn’t your fault.”
I snort. “That’s my line. If it’s not my fault, then whose is it?”
“The guy who made those comments. The one who sent Jasmin the photos,” Rose says immediately. “You know I’m right.”
I sink my nose into her hair. “Just like I was right when I said it was Gareth’s fault, or the driver’s fault.”
She falls silent in the crook of my arm and lays her head back down on my chest. The weight of it there brings a new calmness, and I allow my eyes to close as we lie together for a while until Rose speaks.
“After Brett’s accident, I started having this recurring dream. I would be running away from something I couldn’t see. Then I’d get inside the front door, but no matter how many times I turned the key, it would never lock. Whatever it was would reach the other side, and I would wake up as I watched the handle press down, knowing they were coming for me.”
I open my eyes and look down at her, but she’s gazing at the fire which has almost burned out.
“Do you still have it?”
“Sometimes. But do you know what was scarier for me?”
“Tell me.”
She twists her head to look into my eyes. “Seeing you covered in blood the other day. I sat with Brett for weeks in the hospital afterward. Seeing people hurt… I just… I don’t want to be cleaning up your blood again, okay?”
If only I could promise her. But I can’t. What I do is dangerous. And there’s every chance there will be blood. Hopefully, not mine next time.
“Okay, Dax?” she repeats when I don’t respond. She pushes up to a sitting position and stares at me, and more than anything, I yearn to pull her back down into my arms again. Instead, I sit up and slip a hand around the back of her neck, pressing my lips to her forehead again as I exhale.
“Dax? Promise me,” she whispers, gripping the front of my t-shirt in both hands.
“I don’t make promises I can’t keep. I wish things were different.Youmake me wish they were.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She pulls away from me.
I stare at her lips, then back up to her eyes.
I can’t go there with her.
“Nothing. It means nothing.”
Chapter 13
Rose
Islamthefrontdoor of the cottage, my fingers tingling with rage. I want to hit something.
Him.
I want to hit Dax square in the jaw. Hit the bastard for being so fucking infuriating and complicated.
