The Confession

“The hell we weren’t. Maybe we didn’t say it out loud, but we both had our hands on her as we promised to take care of her. What other interpretation was the man supposed to have?”

“That’s true.” Heavenly frowned. “And at the time, I was angry. Not only about him dying but because we spent some of our last precious minutes together discussing my life choices. He died worrying about me. He was disappointed. Thanks to Liam channeling my dad, I know now that he understands how much you both love me and he’s resting peacefully because I followed my heart. But I was gutted for weeks because I thought I’d failed him.”

Shit. Beck hadn’t known that, while Abel lay dying in her arms, Heavenly had been drowning in guilt for being in love with both him and Seth. None of them had handled that well. Regret pressed in.

How had she not resented the hell out of them these past weeks? Only because she had a huge heart and an unending gift for forgiveness. Maybe it was time he followed her lead and showed some compassion, instead of throwing a righteous fit.

“I’m not trying to be a dick. I’m just trying to figure out how you envision telling your family about us.”

“I get it.” Seth sighed. “But you know better than anyone how religion can color your view of the world. How something good and loving can be seen as something obscene and wrong.”

“Don’t preach to me about religion,” Beck bit out, gripping the steering wheel tighter. “Especially since I’m convinced this is about more. But you can’t not tell your mother.”

“I know. And I don’t need you to goddamn tell me how to deal with my family.”

“Enough!” Heavenly spat. “Clearly, we’re not going to resolve this right now. So, just…drop it. Both of you. Please. There’s been enough fighting for one day.”

Beck swallowed the ugly retort he’d cued up for Seth and saved it for later. He wasn’t about to let Cooper sweep this wedding bullshit under the rug, but he also didn’t want to upset Heavenly. There really had been enough bullets, bloodshed, and bombshells. At least for today.

“You’re right, little girl.” Beck nodded.

“Sorry, angel. I didn’t mean to upset you. Let me think about this.” He patted her thigh, then shoved a pair of buds into his ears.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, Beck watched Seth tap his phone, lean his head back, close his eyes, and tune them out.

Cursing inwardly, he met Heavenly’s stare in the mirror. He saw his own unsettling worry etched on her face.

“We’ll get everything worked out.” At least he hoped they would.

She nodded, doubt shimmering in her eyes—along with pooling tears—before she inched to the far side of the SUV and stared out the window.

Damn it. Somehow, he had to save them from falling apart. They’d come too far together to give up.

As the miles slipped away, Beck called on the knowledge he’d gained during his psych rotation. While Seth wasn’t presenting any serious mental disorders, he had a slew of defense mechanisms. His favorite? Denial.

Beck was still tossing a theory around in his head and trying to decide what to do when Seth started snoring.

Heavenly shot him a concerned stare, then shed her seat belt to climb over the console. Beck watched from the corner of his eye until she settled in the seat beside him. Then she leaned in to softly kiss his cheek—melting his heart—before buckling up again.

He sent her a smile and threaded his fingers through hers, drawing her hand to his lips and brushing them across her knuckles.

“I’m sorry I barked at you both,” she murmured. “The way you two were snarling at each other worried me.”

“Don’t be sorry. We weren’t getting anywhere but angrier.”

She nodded. “True, but I don’t know what I’d do if I lost either of you.”

It was ironic that Seth had helped teach Heavenly how to voice her fears so openly, yet he couldn’t find the courage or trust to do the same.

“You’re not losing me, little girl. You’re stuck with me forever.”

“I’m glad, but this wedding thing…” She sighed. “I’m torn. I see where you’re both coming from. There’s no right or wrong. I get why Seth doesn’t want to disrupt his mom’s special day. I also understand how it would crush you if we just jetted off to New York and left you behind.”

“That’s not what’s upsetting me. I’m a big boy. It’s the fact that Seth seems determined to hide our relationship. How’s that going to work?”

“I don’t know. Since he’s also a big boy, he needs to come clean with his mom, just…not on her wedding day. But if he doesn’t, what happens in the future? What about when the holidays roll around? Is he going to stay in LA with us or fly home to New York? If I meet his family at the wedding, they’re going to expect me to come with him. But I can’t do that without leaving you alone. And I don’t plan to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas without both of you.”

“I don’t want to spend any day without you both, but especially holidays. I’m not sure Seth considered those ramifications.”