She wiped at her tears. “You are the man of my dreams, Griffin. Exactly as you are, no matter how difficult it gets. Whether you love my family or hate them…you’re the only man that I want. I never meant to rush you. When you’re ready…if you’re ever ready…we’ll try again.”
I stared at her, relieved that she was patient with me. It would be ridiculous if she weren’t. Her father was making an effort to move forward, and her mother was kind to me. But no matter what they did to start over, it could never erase the past. I couldn’t forget what happened…and I hadn’t forgiven them for it either.
I moved into Vanessa and cupped her cheeks before I kissed her. It was a soft kiss, full of remorse and self-loathing. I wiped her tears away with my thumbs then kissed her forehead. I didn’t say a word before I turned around and walked to the truck. I didn’t need to tell her I loved her every time I said goodbye.
Our love was so real that she always knew.
“Griffin.” Crow’s deep voice came from behind me, his boots crunching against the gravel.
I was trying to get away from the Barsettis, not engage with them. It would be easy for me to get in the truck and drive off, ignoring him like he deserved. But something stopped me. Something kept me from crossing that line.
I turned around, seeing that Vanessa had walked back into the house.
Crow walked up to me, dressed in all black like usual. He was slightly shorter than I was, and with green eyes like Vanessa’s, he reminded me of hers in some ways. They were both fearless and hard, but they also loved openly. He stopped in front of me and rubbed the back of his neck. “I heard what you said to Vanessa.”
“Of course you did.” I leaned against my truck and crossed my arms over my chest.
Crow ignored the insult. “I can’t apologize for the way I behaved before. I love my daughter and—”
“You’ve said all of this already. You did your best, Crow. Give yourself a pat on the back and just let it go. I don’t like you—never will.”
This time, he actually looked pained by what I said.
“I didn’t mean to ruin your night. Honestly. Spend time with your family.” I turned around.
Crow grabbed my shoulder and forced me back toward him. “You are family, Griffin.”
I pushed his hand down. “Don’t touch me again. The only reason why I won’t cross the line and actually punch you is because of Vanessa. But don’t push me.” I leaned back into the truck again.
He ignored everything I said. “You are family, Griffin. You are part of this family, and it would make us all very happy if you came back in and joined us.”
“I don’t care about making you happy.” I turned back to the truck and opened the door.
He pushed it shut.
I faced him. “You don’t think I’ll break your nose?”
Crow didn’t flinch at the threat. “Then hit me, Griffin. We both know I deserve it. If that will make you feel better, by all means.” He dropped his hands to his sides. “Do it. I’m serious.”
It was tempting. Very tempting. But it would break Vanessa’s heart. I would never do anything that would cause her that kind of pain. When I talked about that gun in her father’s face, it brought her to tears. “No.”
“Come on.” He egged me on with his hands.
“Hitting you is like hitting Vanessa. I won’t do it.”
He dropped his hands. “Then what’s it going to take? How are we going to move forward?”
“We can’t move forward,” I snapped. “There’s too much pain here. Vanessa will be part of our lives forever, and I will always take care of her. But it will always be divided. I’m not taking her away from you, and you aren’t taking her away from me. So let’s just be happy with that.”
He stepped back and ran his hand through his hair, sighing through his flared nostrils. “You don’t get it. I want you to be part of this family simply because it’s what I want. Yes, I get to see my daughter whenever I want and have a close relationship with her. But all I care about right now is having a relationship with you.” He shook his head slightly as he looked at me. “We both have shit that haunts us. We both have done terrible things to each other. We’re both guilty of horrible crimes. We both need to let it go.”
“I agree. But I’m not ready.”
He moved his hands to his hips, his shoulders stiff with frustration. “I’m sorry for what I said about your mother. It was uncalled for…even then. I mean that.”
I looked at the house, refusing to meet his gaze.