Pierced Hearts (Southern Charmers 1)
She comes to stand by me, leaning on the railing. Her words hang in the air. She’s exactly right. Hearing her apologize has a tremendous impact that fuels my curiosity. Questions fire around in my brain, questions that were long ago buried because the answers wouldn’t change the fate of my life. She left me.
That was that.
“I don’t blame you for hating me, Pierce. You were right the other day. What I did to us was unforgivable. But I was young, lost, and immature. Letting all the time pass is one of my biggest regrets.”
“Twelve years is a long time to hold on to regret.”
“I’m afraid it’s something I’ll carry around for the rest of my life.”
She twists to me, her light brown eyes glistening. My stomach turns, and my heart races at the raw, unfiltered sorrow and pain written on her face. For a brief second, I’m transported back in time to that afternoon—a younger Darby looking at me with the same expression she’s wearing now. I’d walked away from her, but not before I called her a selfish bitch as my parting words. My anger got the best of me, and I’d lashed out harshly.
It isn’t until right now, at this moment, that that anger finally starts to fade. “I didn’t blame you, Darby. What happened wasn’t your fault. Evin told me you think that—”
She puts a hand on my chest to stop me from finishing, and tears slide out of the corner of her eyes. “Evin has some very strong misconceptions about what happened between us. It’s time I clear those up with him. But between you and me, we both know I am to blame for what happened afterward.”
Even through the fabric of my shirt, I can feel the heat of her touch on my skin. My eyes drop, and she tries to yank her hand away, but my fingers fasten around her wrist and hold it to me. “Is that why you were crying the other night?”
“W-w-what?”
“When I showed up at your bakery, you said something about being curled in a fetal position and shedding tears.”
“I assumed you were Evin when I opened that door. Mom had just told me about your visit, and it would be like him to come and check on me.”
“I figured as much, but why were you crying in the first place?”
“A few nights earlier, he and I had a conversation that struck a chord. It really wasn’t about you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“I don’t know what to think. Everything I thought was the truth for all these years seems to be a huge lie. You hauling ass out of town left a gaping hole in my life that I spent years trying to heal. You said some things that don’t make sense.”
“Please, don’t do this.”
“I want to let it go, but I can’t. Why didn’t you ever get married and have kids, Darby?”
She jerks back, her hand in mine trembling. I tighten my grip and stare into her eyes that are swimming in agony. It’s impossible to miss the sadness and torment staring back at me. Then it hits me, all that Evin said, mixed with her own admissions. She never moved on. Darby has been drowning in misery and holding on to nothing but excruciating memories. Losing our baby was hard, but we had barely gotten used to the idea of being parents. That wasn’t why she left.
Feelings and emotions that died long ago start to resurface, and my chest feels like it may explode. “Tell me,” I urge her gently, setting my mug on the railing.
“Because I fell in love with my soulmate at seventeen-years-old. I could never love another man the way I loved you. There was never going to be anyone else for me. And when you started a family with another woman, my heart shattered into a billion tiny shards that never recovered.”
“You broke up with me and skipped town!”
“You let me go!” she cries, her entire body shivering.
“You gave me no choice.”
“There’s always a choice, Pierce. You know that better than anyone.” Bitterness bleeds into her statement, and I catch her defenses building.
My instincts kick in, and old habits click into place. I close the space between us, circle her waist, and crush my mouth to hers. She freezes for a split second before her hand wraps around my neck, and she dissolves into me. Her lips part, and my tongue slips through, finding hers easily. The taste of her chocolate and hazelnut creamer sends a shockwave buzzing through my system. For the first time in twelve years, I crave the taste and angle my head for more.
She whimpers, scraping her nails along my scalp, and rises on her tiptoes, giving me the signal. I let go of her hand on my chest and bend, lifting her so she wraps her arms and legs around me.