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She squeezes my hand again. “Well, she’s a cunt, and her loss is my win.”
I can’t help but smile at her. “It was my fault. I wanted so badly to live my dreams in the NHL. I worked my ass off to get where I was, but I kept getting hurt. Instead of staying home with her, I was always training, always trying to get better and stronger.”
Before I can get all the words out, she’s shaking her head. “No, it’s not your fault. She knew what she was getting into. She knew you way before the NHL, so that’s bullshit. Instead of fucking around, if she was lonely, she could have gone to the rink to at least be in the same space as you. There are ways to make things work instead of fucking cheating.”
And just like that, the ice around my heart shatters, and it feels as if my heart is beating fully for the first time.
I have to ask, “Has someone cheated on you?”
She scoffs. “I wish a dude would. My sisters would kill him, and then I’d resuscitate him so I could kill him again.” I chuckle at that. “No. I’m just a firm believer that if you want to be with someone, you do what you have to do to make it work. Relationships aren’t easy, but if you truly love someone, you’ll work for it.”
My heart is thumping at that. “It’s funny, my coach at the time said that the day I got married. Told me that if Peppa waswhat I wanted, I had to work for her. He told me to honor my parents and love her the way they loved each other. I thought I did. I thought I did everything I could while still training, but it wasn’t enough for her. She drained me dry to pay for her family, and then she stepped out on me.”
Clara shakes her head. “I’m sorry that happened to you, and it makes sense why you never tried again after her.”
I shrug. “No one ever made me want to try.”
A sparkle glints in her eyes, and my heart almost comes out of my chest. “Until now?”
Her confidence is intoxicating. It shines just like she does. “Until now,” I agree, squeezing her hand.
She stands up then, leaning over the counter, and I meet her halfway until our lips touch. She tastes like lemon and perfection. When she pulls back, she rests her forehead to mine. Her navy gaze holds mine hostage as she says, “I would never do anything like that to you.”
“I know.”
“And know I won’t be flirting to fuck with you anymore. I don’t want to trigger anything.” She waggles her brows at me. “Though, I do enjoy the punishment.”
I scoff, licking my lips as desire courses through me. “You’re a brat, through and through. I’m sure I’ll have a lot to punish you for.”
She feigns shock. “I am not a brat. I’m your good girl.”
“Oh, you are, but you’re also a brat.”
She beams, her eyes full of excitement and sweetness. “But seriously, if at any point this isn’t working anymore, we’ll talk about it and go from there. Please don’t make me pay for her mistakes.”
Another huge difference between Peppa and Clara. Peppa never was so forthcoming. Never talked or asked for anything, except money for her family. For such a young woman, mybaby girl’s maturity is stunning. Or rather, maybe it’s not her maturity. Maybe it’s just her. Clara knows what she wants. She goes for it, makes it happen. Her business is enough evidence of that, and I am in awe of the woman before me.
Her strength is fucking hot.
I cup her jaw, running my thumb along her bottom lip. “Never.”
As I find myself lost in her navy gaze, I can’t believe how easy it is to make that promise to her. I haven’t been with anyone because of what Peppa did to me, yet here I am, staring into the eyes of a beautiful and dynamic woman, making a promise that shouldn’t be so easy to make.
But I know it’s a promise I’ll never break.
CHAPTER 22
Clara
No wonder he’s been closed off.
It really upsets me that Elliot just decided that there was nothing more to Riggs than what he put out there. I knew from the jump that beyond all his hotness and his grumpy exterior, there was more to him. The man has a soul, he has a heart, and yes, he’s locked it all down, but it was for good reason. He lost his parents, then got married, only to have her cheat on and steal from him. Is it pathetic that I’m green with envy that he loved her? Maybe, but I think I’m even more upset that she hurt him when he loved her so much.
Bitch.
“Was it a happy marriage?”
He chewed his bite as he shrugged. “At first, it was. But like I said, I was always getting hurt, which made me an arsehole, as she’d called me. Then I was always traveling, and I think we grew apart.”
