Tease Me (The Macintyre Brothers 2)

He nodded. "We never slept together. I never kissed her. I just paid for her rehab and took her there."

I shook my head, ashamed that I'd been so wrong.

"That's nothing to be ashamed of. It's noble."

"I was horrible to her," he said and shook his head. "I treated her like an object to use when I felt like it. To forget about when I found something I liked better. No wonder she crashed."

I leaned over and kissed him softly. "You didn't mislead her. She misled herself. Josh, you can't take responsibility for the whole world on your shoulders. She's responsible for her own issues, not you. There must be something in their family -- mental illness, abuse, neglect -- something that led Penny to do drugs. People who abuse drugs are self-medicating. They need help and the drugs take the pain away for a while. It's not your fault."

"I wish I could believe you, but if I hadn't led her on..."

"Did you promise her to love her and only her? To stay with her till death do you part? If not, you didn't lead her on."

"But I was so heartless. I didn't see how her idea about what we meant to each other changed. I didn't read the signs. I was selfish and self-absorbed. Then, when I met Christie, I just moved on without a thought."

I felt tears well up in my eyes. I'd been so wrong about him...

"I have a confession to make, too," I said and got up, pulling him over to the sofa. I sat, and he sat down beside me.

"What?"

I told him about the anonymous messages I received and the page of pictures of him and Penny.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry," he said, frowning. "If I'd told you right away about Penny, you would have known that those pictures meant nothing. This is my fault. I should have come clean, but I just felt so bad overall."

"We both should have been more open," I said and reached over to cup his face. "I'm sorry I didn't just ask you outright, but I was afraid that I'd been betrayed again."

"I would never cheat on you," he said. "Never. I love you, Ella. I'm in love with you. I have been since that day in the elevator."

"That's crazy," I said, my eyes filled with tears.

"It's true," he said and laughed, his own eyes misty. "I love you, Ella. Don't run away from me again. You can always ask me anything and I'll always tell you the truth. I don't want to ever be apart from you again."

"I'm so sorry I doubted you." We kissed and embraced, and I felt a wave of relief flood through my body, my heart feeling like it could burst with happiness. "I love you, Josh. I can't imagine not having you in my life. This past day has been utter hell because I thought we'd have to end it."

We kissed again, our arms tight around each other.

That was how my mother found us as she came in the front door. Our kiss ended, and I glanced over only to see her raise her eyebrows and quickly turn around and go back outside.

"Mom, it's okay," I called out. "You can come back in."

She did come back in, her face flushed bright pink. "Whew!" she said and fanned herself. "I thought you two were having a moment and didn't want to interrupt."

"We were having a moment, but it's all good." I stood and pulled Josh up. "Mom, this is Josh Macintyre."

Josh held his hand out. "So happy to finally meet you, Mrs. Carter. You should know that I'm in love with your daughter and I just told her I didn't want us to ever be apart again."

Of course, my mother was ecstatic to meet Josh and of most especially, to hear his declaration of love.

"Oh, you're going to have me in tears with that kind of talk. Come here and give me a big old hug," she said, and he laughed when she embraced him, not seeming to mind her overly affectionate nature, embracing her back and smiling at me.

Josh and my mother hugged for a moment and then he pulled back, his hands on her arms. "I'm a bit worried to meet your husband, though. Is he not home?"

"He's in Washington for the weekend."

"Do you think he'll forgive me for my father's past indiscretions?"

"There's nothing to forgive," my mother said and waved her hand dismissively. "When you two finally meet, all he'll care about is whether you've made our little girl happy."