When I’m Gone (Rosemary Beach #11)(31)
Author: Abbi Glines

But I wasn’t willing to lose her. I’d do whatever the hell she wanted me to. I just didn’t want to lose her.

After what seemed like an eternity, she turned off the water and reached for a towel to dry her face. She took several deep breaths before dropping the towel and turning to face me.

I had started to apologize when her mouth puckered up into a pout, and then she burst into tears. Shit!

Without waiting for her, I pulled her into my arms. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know if she was crying because of me and what I’d done or if she was crying because of her own reaction.

“It’s OK, sweetheart. I got you. It’s OK,” I said, trying to soothe her. I hated the sobs that caused her body to shake in my arms.

“I’m so-o-o-orry,” she cried loudly.

Fuck that. I picked her up, carried her to the bed, and sat down with her still in my arms. I leaned against the headboard and held her like a baby, cuddling her to my chest. “I told you not to apologize to me. Ever. It’s me who’s sorry, Reese.”

She grabbed my T-shirt in her fist and cried harder.

“I’m br-r-roo-o-ken,” she sobbed. “You do-o-on’t ha-ave to se-e-ttle for br-r-r-ooo-oken.” She let out a loud wail like she was mourning a death.

God, I swore, if I ever found the man who did this to her, he would pay.

I tucked her head under my chin and tightened my hold on her. “You are perfect. So perfect that you take my breath away. I’m completely obsessed with you. You’re all I see anymore, Reese. Nothing about you is broken. Please, don’t let me ever hear you say that again. I want you to see yourself the way I do. This breathtaking beauty who has me so completely fascinated. She’s a fighter. She’s strong. She’s fun, and she is kind and honest. She doesn’t judge others. She accepts people for who they are. She doesn’t expect anything but gives beauty to the world around her freely. That is who I see, Reese. That is who you are. See that, too, sweetheart. Please, see that, too.”

Her crying dissolved into little hiccups, but her grip on my shirt only intensified. I watched as she finally tilted her head back to look up at me with red, swollen eyes. Even now, she was still amazing.

“You think that . . . about me?”

I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Yes, I do.”

She started to say something, and her body tensed. I knew she was just now realizing that she was still topless. I shifted quickly, pulled my shirt off, and slipped it on her. I didn’t want her to move. Not yet.

She helped by putting her arms through the holes. It was too big on her, but seeing her covered up in my shirt stroked my possessive beast.

“Thank you,” she said, wrapping her arms around her stomach like she was cuddling with my shirt. I liked that, too.

“I asked for too much tonight. This was my fault. I will be more careful in the future. I swear. Please, don’t stop trusting me,” I said, needing her to believe me.

She frowned. “You always asked me. I could have said no. It isn’t your fault.”

But it was. “Next time you want more, you will have to ask for it. I won’t push again. I swear to you.”

Then we would both know she wanted it.

She sighed and covered her face with both hands. “I wish I wasn’t like this.”

I did, too. But for different reasons. I wished she had no nightmares in her past. I hated that she suffered from something so horrific. Hell, I hated that she suffered at all.

“Will you hold me tonight while we sleep again?”

“You never have to ask that, Reese. The answer is always yes.”

Late the next morning, I left Reese standing at the door wearing my shirt. It was the hardest thing I’d had to do. I didn’t like leaving her. I wanted her with me.

“Wear my shirt at night. I like knowing that you have something of mine when I’m gone.”

She had nodded and let me kiss her before I took my duffel bag and headed back to Texas.

Reese

Jimmy was at my door with two cappuccinos on Monday morning. I was so glad to see him that I hugged him tightly before taking my java goodness from him. “You’re back. Are you better? Can you sleep?”

He beamed at me. He loved the attention. “Yeah, I’m good. I had a few rough nights, but I’m better. I see they took the tape down.”

I nodded. I tried not to think about the shooting. From the little I had seen on the news, I knew that Jacob was being held without bail. He would be tried for murder. And Melanie’s parents had come to take her body back to Iowa to bury her.

“I’m glad you’re back.”

“Missed me, did ya? Good. I heard you broke Thad’s heart while I was gone. But since it was over Mase Manning, I’m gonna say that was a smart move, sugar. Thad might be pretty, and his ass might be the tightest thing I’ve ever seen, but he likes to dip his dick in a new woman every damn night. Not your type at all.”

I frowned, then laughed at his description of Thad. “More info than I needed, but OK.”

“Drink that cappuccino, darling, because you’re gonna need it. I heard that the wicked witch of the beach is back. She arrived from Paris late last night. Prepare yourself for this. Nannette is an evil, evil bitch. She’s also gonna take one look at you and get pissy. She doesn’t deal well when there’s a female hotter than she is, and baby, you are smoking.”

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about Nan. She was Mase’s sister. But I also had to tell her about her mirror. Mase hadn’t brought it up again, but I knew I had to tell Nan what had happened. Every time I cleaned that room, I saw that empty space and dreaded having to tell her what I had done.

There was a good chance Nan would fire me. I was preparing myself for that, too. But I was going to call Blaire Finlay this afternoon and see about cleaning her house. If I was fired from Nan’s, then at least I wouldn’t hurt from the pay cut.

I grabbed my backpack and slipped it up my arm and followed Jimmy out to his car. “How did you hear about Thad?” I asked.

Jimmy grinned like he knew the best secret in the world. “I got a call from Mase last night. He wanted to make sure I was home and I would be picking you up for work. He also explained that he’d need to know the next time I was out of town or couldn’t take you to work. He didn’t want Thad to be my first call. He said he would make arrangements.” Jimmy wiggled his eyebrows. “So naturally, after that very intimidating call, I called Blaire and asked her what the scoop was. She didn’t know the details, so she called Harlow, who, of course, knew. Then Blaire called me back and filled me in.”