Page 23 of Good Intentions, Vol. 3

I barely muster the courage to look at him. The familiar determination is swimming in his eyes and I’m aware he’s made a decision that he won’t back out of. I don’t know if I should be frightened or elated. But he doesn’t give me the chance to figure it out.

“What happened between Claire and me has nothing to do with you. Yes, I cheated on her with you, but that doesn’t mean you bear any responsibility for our divorce. We were headed that way from the moment we said our vows.”

I gulp. He continues speaking never looking away, not even for a second, imploring me with his eyes to believe him.

“I will never cheat on you, Heather. You’re the one I want to spend the rest of my life with and there’s no way in hell I will ever lose interest in you. I lived without you and it’s pure hell, pretty girl. I don’t ever want to do it again. I love you.”

He cups my face in his hands and leans over to me. “As for Ben, you don’t have to worry. He has me anytime he wants me and in the times between. He doesn’t feel any pain that you did because he never knew that his parents had a happy marriage, because they didn’t. We were never a couple, just roommates that yes, fucked. But that’s it.” I flinch when he says that they fuck but don’t say anything otherwise. “And he knows all about you. He knows I love you. He looks at the picture of the two of us that’s in my bedroom and asks every time when he’ll get to meet you.”

He told his son about me! Oh, God. He told Ben that he loves me.

“And to ease your mind about her, Claire has no interest in me. She’s dating a man that makes her happy. We aren’t friends, because we can never be, but we are parents to the most perfect little boy and we get along. It took a long time and a lot of work, but we respect each other and can be in the same room without tearing into each other. And yes, she knows about you too. She even called me a fool and weak for not going after you before the divorce papers were signed.”

I can’t stop the tears that are rolling down my face and I don’t wipe them away, I don’t want to lose sight of him even for a second.

“If we do this, pretty girl. If I get out of this car, there’s no going back. I want you in my life. I need you to breathe. But you’re the one who has to decide,” he finishes and waits for me.

The hold he has on my arm tightens for a moment before he lets me go and I miss his touch instantly. I don’t take long to answer him. I lean over to get as close to him as I can in the car.

“I love you,” I whisper. “Now get your ass out of this car, come up and make love to me.”

The smile he gives me before doing what I said is proof enough that I made the right choice. For the first time in a long time, I feel completely free. Free to just be me and free to love Nick the way that I do.