“You bet your ass you will.”
With that, Grayson tapped the edge of his door window, and Merit headed out as his brother watched him leave with another wide grin on his face.
Chapter 22
Mae glanced out at Ian kicking his soccer ball around in the backyard before sliding the take-n-bake pizza into the oven a little after three o’clock. She’d left Shelby’s work site in her forewoman’s hands and knocked off early to pick up Ian and the Cowboy pizza as a treat. She set the timer just as a firm knock sounded at her front door. A quick glance out the kitchen window past her red work truck in the driveway revealed a boxy, hunter green SUV parked on the street between her house and her neighbor’s.
Another thump drew her to the door, curious as to who’d be at her doorstep in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday. Probably a salesman, offering pamphlets or a ‘free’ carpet cleaning. Steepling her fingers against the door to brace herself, she rose on her tiptoes to peek out the corner of the window at the top.
A glimpse of Merit’s profile jammed her heart up into her throat. Conflicting emotions rushed forward. An initial spike of excitement was obliterated by a punch of hurt and anger. When he started to turn back toward her house, she dipped down out of sight, her heart racing fast enough to shorten her breath.
Another rap of his knuckles made her jump. Damn it. With her truck in plain sight, she couldn’t even pretend she wasn’t home.
She closed her eyes for a moment, drew in a deep breath and blew it back out, then slid to the right and yanked the door open. Her brain registered too damn handsome and a large bouquet of flowers as she snapped, “What?”
Merit’s solemn brown gaze met hers, and after a tense moment, he stepped back and dropped to one knee.
Mae lost her breath all over again as her eyes widened in shock. “Are you out of your mind? What the hell are you doing?”
He lifted the flowers. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there this morning. I’m an asshole jerk who doesn’t deserve your forgiveness but I’m begging for it anyway.”
Oooh. He was apologizing, not proposing.
That made a lot more sense. Because how insane would it have been for him to propose?
She stared at the colorful array of peach, blue, and white carnations. How insane was it that for a split second she imagined saying yes?
One hundred percent insane.
Two hundred percent insane—especially after he’d let her down this morning and hadn’t even bothered to text or call.
That reminder brought back her anger. He had deserted her without a word since the brunch two days ago. She gripped the edge of the door in one hand and propped the other on her hip. “Why weren’t you there? Besides the fact you’re an asshole jerk.”
He started to rise up, and she lifted her hand to keep him right where he was. Cheap flowers or not, she wasn’t going to make this easy on him. How much he was willing to beg would say a lot. When he dropped back onto his knee, she ignored a small stab of guilt.
“I...ah, I had a job...thing.”
For the first time, she realized he was wearing a dress shirt and suit pants instead of his usual T-shirt and jeans, and he was clean shaven. It made his explanation somewhat plausible. Somewhat.
“And what—your phone died? Got broke? Lost? Because if you weren’t going to call, the very least you could’ve done was send a text.”
Guilt flooded his face. “It was last minute this morning, and I forgot about the doctor appointment, otherwise I would’ve called. I swear.”
“Right. Just like you said you’d call when you ran out of
here on Sunday.” She clenched her jaw, then forced it to relax, desperate to keep the hurt from her voice. “Good to know how easily forgettable we are.”
She stepped back to close the door in his face, but he surged forward, palm flat against the wood to keep it open.
“That is not what happened.” His gaze locked with hers. “Mae, please. You have every right to be mad at me right now. And that’s fine, but please give me a second chance here.”
“Why didn’t you call? After Sunday, I mean.”
His gaze dropped as he lowered his arm, and his Adam’s apple jerked up and down with a hard swallow. “I was embarrassed.”
And just like that, the humility in his tone softened her heart. She steeled herself against weakening. She couldn’t give in just because he brought flowers and said he was sorry. While on his knees.
No. She had to stay strong for the baby and Ian.