“Piper,” he breathes, staring at me like I’m a ghost or a figment of his imagination and I force a smile to my face but it feels shaky, at best, and my heart pounds in my ears.
“Hi, Wyatt.”
Chapter Nine
Wyatt
“Hi, Wyatt.” Her voice washes over me like a thunderstorm, electricity racing across my skin and my heart thundering in my chest as I stare up at her, trying to find the right words to say. One part of me wants to stand up, pull her into my arms, and kiss her until neither one of us can breathe, until I get every single second of affection I’m owed for the past ten years and the other part of me is fucking pissed, raging out of control and demanding answers to the questions that have been dogging me day and night since she left. And I have no clue which side to give into. How the fuck can she make me want to fuck her senseless and scream at her at the same time?
Fuck, she looks incredible, too.
Her dark red hair is longer now, hanging down her back as she stands in front of me, trying to put on a brave face but looking nervous as hell. My gaze drops down her body slowly, taking her in as I try to collect myself again and I swallow hard when I catch a glimpse of her long legs and the pink heels she’s wearing. They remind me of the lingerie she wore on our wedding night and my cock strains against my zipper as I shift in my seat and meet her gaze again. She arches a brow and I realize she’s still waiting for me to say something.
Shit.
What the hell do I say to her?
I mean, there is so much I want to say, so many fucking questions to ask her but what am I supposed to do? Just blurt them out in a crowded restaurant? When I still don’t open my dumb mouth and force words out, she pulls out the chair across from me and sits down. I remember my date with Eden and I shake my head as I glance around the restaurant. Well, this is awkward.
“I’m… uh, I’m actually meeting someone, Piper, so you can’t stay here.”
She nods as she sets her purse on the floor. “I know. You’re meeting me.”
“No,” I answer, shaking my head. “I’m meeting someone named Eden.”
“Eden is my best friend and she set this up. I didn’t even know until I got here.”
Well, fuck.
I scowl as I study her face and my gaze falls to the scar on her neck and she subtly covers it with her hand. “And why would she do that?”
“Because…” she sighs, her tongue darting out to run along her bottom lip and I bite back a groan. Fuck her for still being able to get to me like this. “Because she thinks we need to talk.”
“What could we possibly have to talk about, wife?” I growl, pissed at Eden for blindsiding both of us and hurt creeping back into my chest as the shock of seeing Piper again wears off. My memory of reading her email in that Godforsaken desert pops into my mind and pain floods my body. I remember the pain of coming home to an empty house and her wedding ring on the table, the pain of getting the divorce papers in the mail and I clench my fist on top of the table. Shit. I wish I could punch something. Her gaze flicks to my hand and she sucks in a breath before meeting my eyes again.
“I don’t want to fight with you, Wyatt. I know that I hurt you and I don’t have any excuses for you but I do want to tell you how sorry I am… losing you… leaving you is my biggest regret.”
I consider coming back with a snappy remark, something designed to hurt her in return but as she looks up at me from across the table, I can see the truth in her eyes which only leaves me with more questions. Shaking my head, I suck in a breath.
“So, what do you want, then?”
Her teeth sink into her full bottom lip. “I don’t want anything.”
“Liar.”
“I didn’t even know I was meeting you here today so truly, I don’t want anything from you.”
I tilt my head to the side, studying her. “You could have just left, stood me up.”
“Well… I didn’t want to do that, either.”
“So you’re just here to torture me then?” I ask and she flinches, unshed tears shining in her eyes. Fuck. I always hated it when she cried. Her hand shakes as she presses it flat against the table and I can see her warring with herself before she looks at me with a determined expression on her face.
“I want you to help me have a baby.”
Blinking, I stare at her as my lips part in shock. “What?!”
“I want you to help me have a baby,” she repeats, her gaze unwavering and strength reflected in her gaze.
Holy shit.
That’s new.
Where the hell is the scared girl I grew up with? The one that would jump out of her skin and start crying if you snuck up on her, the one who never made it through a week without, at least, three nightmares that woke us both up and the one that I loved so fucking much in spite of all that. Watching her, I can’t help but wonder who she is now and how much I would like to get to know her again before I shut that thought down and press my lips into a line.
“Is this why Eden set this whole thing up?” I fucking hate feeling like I’m being played right now and I don’t know how she thinks the two of us having a baby together is a good fucking idea. It’s insane. At best, she and I are a mess of pain and resentment and she wants to bring a child into this? She shakes her head.
“I’ve been looking into how to have a baby on my own lately and when I realized how expensive it was, she joked that I should ask you but it was never something I seriously considered until I walked in and saw you.”
“Oh, good,” I snap, crossing my arms over my chest. “‘Cause here I thought you had thought this all through and still thought it was a good idea. What was Eden’s plan then when she messaged me?”
She sucks in a breath and her nerves flash through her eyes for just a second before she shuts it down. “No… She seems to think that there is still something between us.”
“Did you tell her she’s fucking insane?” I ask with what I know is a condescending laugh but my chest aches as I force the words out of my mouth. Sitting here across from her, staring at the face of the woman I fell in love with at thirteen years old, I’m not so sure that’s true anymore. She lets out a breath and shakes her head, sadness creeping into her green eyes and I’m back to a teenage kid who just wanted to make her smile.
Fuck.
I have to get out of here.
“The answer is no,” I force out through gritted teeth as I grab my phone off of the table and stand up. She reaches out and grabs my arm as I try to pass her and I swear to God, my heart stops for a second as I look down at her. His gaze pleads with me and my gut turns as the ache in my chest grows.
“Please just think about it, Wyatt. I don’t ever expect you to forgive me for what I did but I think you might be my last hope.” Her eyes hold me prisoner, wrapping chains around my heart and my anger drains away, forcing me to confront what lies beneath.
I can’t do this.
I can’t let myself go there.
I can’t even let myself think about it because up until this moment, I didn’t realize that I was balancing on the edge of the cliff overlooking a ravine but now I’ve looked down and seen the jagged rocks on the bottom and if I reach for her, I know it will destroy me.