An uncomfortable silence falls on the room, and there’s a shuffle on the other side of the door. Without a word, all five men file out, leaving me standing there wondering if I stepped into the Twilight Zone.
I splash some cold water on my face, mentally preparing myself for what the night may bring. A paper towel is slid into my line of sight, and my heart stammers in my chest. I don’t need to look up to know she’s here. The fragrance of her perfume combined with the scent of her shampoo and body wash. That same scent used to grace my sheets, my pillows, and the shirts she’d steal to sleep in.
I raise my eyes to the mirror and see her behind me, staring with a mixture of emotions in her glossy eyes.
I twist enough to face her, but keep my hip to the counter for support.
No matter what I’ve convinced myself of over the last few weeks, nothing could prepare me for this moment. She’s still the most breathtaking woman in the world. My eyes rake down her body, appreciating the way her red dress hugs her curves in all the right places and stops right above her knees. There’s one sequined strap that covers a shoulder; otherwise, her chest, neck, and shoulders are exposed. The silver heels have thin straps that wrap around her feet and stop at the ankle with some sort of jeweled clasp.
My dick grows painfully hard, picturing this dress bunched around her waist as I taste every inch of her bare skin while sinking deep inside. Those shoes would be wrapped around my back as she screamed my name, multiple times.
“Hi.” The rasp in her voice breaks into my fantasy and takes me back to our first meeting.
“What are you doing in here?”
“Well, I know it’s a bit unconventional, but I didn’t want us to run into each other out there.”
“So you invade the men’s room?” There’s a bite to my tone, making it rough and abrasive.
Her face falls, and she bites down on her trembling lip. “You’re right. This was rude and assuming of me. It was actually selfish. I wasn’t sure how’d you react to me being here so I thought—”
“You’d ambush me?” I finish her sentence.
“Well, I wouldn’t phrase it that way, but I guess that’s how it looks.”
We’re both quiet, staring at each other, lost in our own thoughts.
“You never called.”
“Huh?”
“When you came home from Max’s, you said you’d call. You didn’t.”
“We broke up, Presley. Not much reason to call.”
“Didn’t you read any of my notes? See any of my texts? I came to see you, tried to explain. Couldn’t you at least be civil? I was crazy with worry.”
“Nope, tossed the notes and deleted the texts. There wasn’t anything to explain. You sat at my bedside, holding my hand while I recovered, and used that time to plot how you’d end us. I tried to give you a chance to take it back, to say anything that gave me hope we had a future. But you couldn’t.”
“I was stupid and selfish. Scenarios were constantly racing through my mind, and the thought of a lifetime filled with worry and near tragic gunshot wounds caused temporary insanity. I wasn’t rational.”
“Nightmares, uncertainties, and irrational, I can deal with. It was the look on your face. For the rest of my life, I’ll never forget it.”
A low whimper escapes, but she tries to hide it by clearing her throat softly. “I understand completely. Some things are unforgivable.”
She looks at me with unshed tears in her eyes and lifts her hand, running her fingertips over the soft stubble on my cheek. “I’ll never stop loving you, Finn, and I’ll always regret walking out of that hospital and doubting us. You were the most wonderful thing I’ve ever had in my life. Thank you for giving that to me.” Her lips brush across mine before she rushes out of the bathroom.
I stand mute at the raw confession of her words and the vision of tears streaming down her beautiful face. My heart leaps in my throat as my own eyes start to burn.
“Shit!” I scream and race out after her.
Pride and self-preservation be damned. This woman owns me, and I’d be the biggest fucking fool on the planet to let this go on another minute. My own shame washes through me as I scan around the crowd. How could I be so stupid?
At my height, I have a good sight advantage of the ballroom, but Presley is nowhere.
&nb
sp; “Finn!” Ember waves from a table with Robbie close by.