Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 147128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 736(@200wpm)___ 589(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 736(@200wpm)___ 589(@250wpm)___ 490(@300wpm)
I rolled my teeth over my lower lip and his gaze followed the movement.
‘I understand,’ I muttered. ‘You didn’t answer your phone. Then it was turned off.’
‘My battery died. And at the hospital she was a little…’ He let out a big sigh. ‘Let’s just say she couldn’t understand how I could turn her away when all I’d wanted to do was have a kid – her words, not mine. I was gonna ask the nurses for a charger, but I was too busy trying to calm Lindsey so she wouldn’t risk her baby’s health and then it was almost morning.’
I nodded, capable of only doing that. I believed him. I believed everything he was saying.
‘What are you thinking?’ he asked, tilting his head a little as he tried to catch my gaze.
‘I’m not sure,’ I responded, truthfully. I couldn’t pick just one thing.
‘Okay. That’s okay. Then the next morning, I go to your house and you aren’t there. And I rush to the office to talk to you because I hated how I left things and then Gayle tells me what happened with Kimberly and your dad.’
I let go of the death hold I had on my arm and opened and closed my fingers.
‘Long overdue, I guess.’
‘You’re good?’
I nodded. Again.
‘Okay. That’s good. I’m sorry for accusing you of working with your sister and sneaking the plan to her. I knew, I knew that wasn’t something you’d do, so I don’t know what I was thinking. It’s not enough, at least not in my eyes, but I’m really sorry for putting you in that position, Charlie. I quit, too.’
That made my gaze jump from the floor back up to him. My eyes big. ‘What?’
‘You didn’t think I’d stay there after I heard how he treated you, did you?’ He shook his head. ‘I was never gonna stay there after you left anyway, Charlie. I knew it wasn’t the place for me. I was always going to follow you. That was the plan, remember?’
I shook my head, taking a step back as if I could run away from his words and what they were doing to my poor heart. ‘No. No, that wasn’t the plan. The plan was we’d try and see if there was something there until I left and then we’d see where it went.’
He took a step towards me. ‘Not my plan, Charlie. I was just going to wait until you caught up with what is between us.’
I took another step back, bumping into a door behind me.
‘Does hearing that scare you?’
My brows drew together. ‘Why would that scare me?’
He shrugged, stepping up to me. ‘You tell me.’
‘You don’t have to lie to me, William. That wasn’t the plan we talked about and we both know it.’
‘If I was thrown into a room full of nothing but people, I would always find my way to you. We call to each other, Charlie. Don’t you know that? So, yes. I was always going to follow you wherever you go. I knew it the first night I spent sleeping with you in my arms. You’re the only one I want. It was the same six years ago, it’s the same feeling now. The only difference is I’m smarter now. I wouldn’t let you slip through my fingers like that again.’
‘William,’ I whispered, my voice breaking. ‘Don’t say things like that to me, please.’
He closed the last inch between us and I had to lift my hand up and place it on his chest so he would… so he would let me try and think. He covered my hand with his own and his fingers squeezed mine, his hand warm and familiar.
My head was spinning and my heart… my heart was full of hope with his words.
‘Would you like more cheese?’
I nodded. I loved cheese. And I loved William.
He pressed his forehead against mine, my body trapped between his and the wall. My eyes closed on their own and he kept speaking.
‘My heart is full of you. I wouldn’t know what to do with it anymore without you. You can’t leave me now. I promise to hold your hand and be there for you and with you for as long as I breathe, Charlie. I want you,’ he muttered, a little out of breath even though we were standing motionless. ‘I look at you across the room and feel like I’m the luckiest guy for having you look back at me. I’m in love with you. Can’t you see it? I want my life to be with you.’
I felt the tears gather behind my eyes, but I tried my best to hold them back. I felt William’s hand on my face, gently lifting me up to his gaze. After a few seconds he smiled at something he was seeing. ‘I missed you, Charlie.’