Guy Hater (Fisher Brothers 2)

“Thank the fucking Lord,” Nick shouted. “Who wants a round on me?”

The bar erupted into cheers as Ryan walked toward us. “So you two worked it out?”

I glanced at Claudia, waiting for her approval, and she nodded. “I’m still working on it. I’m going to buy her forgiveness in the form of seafood, and then I’ll be back for closing, okay?”

Ryan gave me a huge grin. “Don’t come back, come back married, I don’t care. Just have a good time. You both deserve it. I’m really happy for you guys.”

His happiness for me was so damn genuine, and I was so appreciative, that it never occurred to me to want to kill him when he took Claudia into his arms and gave her a hug. He whispered something in her ear that I couldn’t hear, but planned to ask her about later.

“I’ll be back.” I clasped his shoulder briefly before walking through a congratulatory crowd, who had no idea what they were congratulating us for.

“One sec.”

Claudia squeezed my arm and stepped away from me, headed for Britney, who was sitting at the bar surrounded by guys. The two talked quickly, hugged, and then my girl was back at my side before I knew it. We walked outside and into the warm night air.

It felt right, having this woman on my arm. Even though part of me felt like I didn’t deserve to be this happy, the rest of me clamored for every ounce of it. Genuine happiness had eluded me for so many years, I wanted to drown in a pool of it and never come up for air. I had been starving—all my own doing, of course, but still starving nonetheless.

We stopped at my bike, and I pulled out the new helmet for Claudia.

“What’s the matter?” she asked, her beautiful face frowning with concern.

How had she so easily read my mind?

“Just beating myself up a little bit,” I admitted honestly.

She caressed my cheek, her finger rubbing the scruff along my jaw. “What for?”

I set the helmet on the seat of the bike and took her hands in mine, then fell into her soft brown eyes. “I was thinking that maybe I don’t deserve to be this happy after what I did to Shelby. That I don’t deserve to feel this good. And I sure as hell don’t deserve you or your forgiveness.” As the words spilled from my lips, the truth of them filled me up inside. It felt really fucking good to say what I meant and to speak without holding back.

“Oh, Frank.” She rose to her tiptoes and planted a kiss on my lips that I never wanted to end. “You can’t undo what’s already been done. There’s no point wasting energy on the things you can’t change. The past is over, but the future is wide open. You deserve to be happy as much as anyone.”

I pulled Claudia against me, needing the physical comfort she provided. Her words struck a chord with me, resonated, felt right. “You’re amazing, you know that? Thank you for giving me a chance to make this right.”

She huffed against my chest. “I knew that if I didn’t, I’d regret it.”

“Yeah?”

“I was having a really hard time getting over you,” she said, looking up at me through her eyelashes. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you, no matter how hard I tried. I never believed in second chances before. I never thought that people deserved them, but I was wrong. No one’s perfect. We all make mistakes. We all do shitty things sometimes. But the most important thing is that we learn and grow from them. You taught me that,” she said with a soft smile that I loved.

“I won’t let you down,” I promised, meaning every word.

“You don’t think less of me, right?”

Surprised, I pulled back. “Less of you? For what?”

“For forgiving you,” she said softly, not meeting my eyes. “You don’t think I’m a doormat, do you, someone you can walk all over? Maybe I should have stood my ground longer, or fought against you harder.”

I hated how sad and unsure of herself she sounded, like she was letting herself down in some way, and I was the cause for it. Running my thumb down her cheek, I stopped at her chin and tilted her face up to meet mine.

“Claudia, the last thing in the world I would ever consider you is a doormat. I’m thankful that you gave me a second chance, but I don’t think less of you for it. Hell, I want to worship you even more because of it.” Little did she know, I was willing to fall at her damn feet if she wanted me to. “I completely understand what you’re saying, but I’m never going to tell you that you should have stood your ground longer or pushed me away harder. Because I didn’t want that. I never wanted that. I would have understood if you did, but I wouldn’t have given up. I wouldn’t have stopped fighting for this chance to be with you. And in the end, we’d be right where we are now, going on our first date.”

“You would have fought for me?” she asked so softly I almost didn’t hear her.

“I am fighting for you. But, yes, I would have fought until you gave in. I wouldn’t have stopped, Claudia, I can promise you that.” And I meant every word. One of these days, she had to believe that I wasn’t just saying nice things to get another chance with her.

“Frank . . .” She huffed out a small breath. “It’s like every woman’s fantasy. We all want to be fought for. Hell, we all want to feel like we’re worth fighting for.”

“You are worth fighting for. That’s why we’re here. We always would have ended up here.”