“Knox, I want you to meet my Sunny.”
She was not his Sunny.
“Sunny, this is Knox McGraw. This guy is a goddamn hero. I had the pleasure of having him under my command for my final two years.”
“Mr. McGraw.” She held out her hand.
He didn’t want to shake her hand. He wanted to smash his lips to hers, rip off her clothes, and sink into her until she remembered that there wasn’t a ‘you or me … just an us.’ Mr. McGraw? Who the fuck was that? Mickey. She called him Mickey.
“Sunny.” The weak voice that spoke her name sounded foreign to his own ears. It was something he didn’t recognize. It was him without her.
If there was a God he would have numbed the feeling of her hand in his, but he felt everything. Every touch. Every kiss. Every inch of her body in that one handshake.
“Grant?” She forced a smile.
He might not have noticed, but Knox did. Knox knew everything about that woman. Grant could spend eternity with her and he would not even come close to really knowing Knox’s giggling angel.
“I-I need to use the ladies’ room, if you’ll excuse me for a few minutes.”
“Sure.” He kissed her cheek.
Knox clenched his teeth as Sunny’s gaze stayed fixed to his.
She turned, weaving her way through the tables, her long white dress flowing behind her.
“I’m going to take off so you two can enjoy your evening.”
Grant held out his hand. “So you’ll consider coming in for an interview?”
Knox shook his hand, harder than necessary. “Of course.”
He traced Sunny’s path, stopping at the door of the women’s lounge as an older woman came out.
She smiled and nodded at him. He slipped inside. Teary eyes reflected in the mirror. He tore his gaze from hers and checked for anyone else. After he confirmed they were alone, he locked the door.
Sunny turned, mascara bled down her cheeks. “Mickey—”
“Shut up.” He took two steps. “Just shut up.” Palming the back of her head, he smashed his lips to hers.
She clawed his shirt, pulling him closer, their tongues desperate to reunite. He didn’t let her go. He couldn’t, not even when her soft moans turned into sobs. Sunny belonged to him. If he had to kiss the life out of her to prove it, to remind her … he would.
“St-stop!” Sunny fought to push him away. “I can’t.” She wiped her hands over her black-stained cheeks.
“I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. I messed up. I should have stayed, but I’m here now and I’m not going back.”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. It’s too late.”
He cradled her face, bending down a breath away from her lips. “Bullshit! It’s not too late. How … how are you even with him? When did this happen?”
“A few days short of six months ago,” she said, her tone bitter, her words daggers to his heart. “I woke up alone. I pulled out the picture of you I kept under my pillow and I said, ‘Fuck you, Mickey’ as I tore it to pieces, the way you did to my heart. That night, I met Grant at the hotel bar.”
He closed his eyes, resting his forehead on hers. “I’m so fucking sorry. I’ll do whatever it takes to make this right. I’ll spend the rest of my life proving how much I love you. You belong to me. I belong to you. It’s us. You said it yourself.”
“It’s too late.”
He rolled his forehead against hers. “No. It’s never too late.”
“It is.”
“I love you, Sunny. I’ll love you forever. Just—”
She rested her hands on his. Curling her fingers into his, she peeled them from her cheeks, pulling back just enough to meet his eyes.
“Mickey, I’ll love your forever too.”
A spark of hope ignited in his chest, bringing his heart back from the dead.
“But … it’s too late.”
“Sunny, stop saying—”
“I’m pregnant.”
*
Knight
“She wouldn’t have married my father had she not been pregnant.”
Knox shrugged. “I know that’s not what you want to believe, but I had to believe it. It’s the only thing that kept me from swallowing the bullet of a .45 caliber.”
“So that’s it? She was pregnant with me and Jude. She chose my father because you chose your career. You took the job with the DEA and worked side-by-side with the man who took your life. Isn’t life a cruel bitch?”
“That it is.” He smirked. “The truth? Love is forever, yet waits for no one. He had her hand in marriage and her babies … but I had her heart. Always.”
“Is that why you raped her daughter?”
“Before Jude channeled his natural born killer instinct, he was her … all her. But you … you were both. Not just in the way you look, but your personality. It’s your dad one day and your mom the next. It’s just always been a constant reminder that they shared something that should have been mine. She was supposed to have my babies.”