“Fine. Do whatever you want. Just didn’t realize we patched in a little bitch.”
He walks away before I can say anything else and I stare at him as he goes back to the grill and takes over for Storm, anger eating away at me. Fuck him and his goddamn assumptions. What Piper and I had, when we had it, was fucking everything and there is no way in hell I can go back after what she did. Things would never be the same and what the hell would it make me if I just forgave her for her betrayal?
As I stare out at everyone else, laughing and having a good time, my mind drifts back to right before I left for my first deployment. I took Piper out as often as I could then, trying to pack as many memories into as little time as possible and we had an amazing month together before I left. Despite the fact that we’d be apart for almost a year, we still had such grand plans for our life and we were happy… at least, I thought we were. Maybe I didn’t know anything at all, though. Piper’s face pops into my mind, all red hair, freckles, and her green eyes shining with happiness and I shake my head.
No.
We were happy.
I know we were.
So why the hell did she leave?
God, I hate all the fucking questions I still have but the truth is, I don’t even know if the answers would make me feel better at this point. Piper leaving me was the start of a downward trend in my life. I started drinking and fighting. Anyone that even looked at me funny was liable to get a fist to the face and I didn’t care about what would happen to me. I mean, my girl was gone so what did it matter if I got my ass kicked, kicked out of the Marines, or arrested for assault?
Without her, I had nothing to lose.
The thought echoes through my head and I release a heavy breath as I sit forward and scrub a hand down my face. Shit. Here I am, talking about how fucking epic our love was and how lost I was without her but I never even went looking for her. I didn’t even try.
Why the hell not?
Why didn’t I fight for her, for us?
Maybe if I had, I would have the life that I want so goddamn badly.
Turning my gaze back to all of the couples milling around the clubhouse, I shake my head. No matter how hard I fight it, Piper is still the only woman I can see spending the rest of my life with and as I think about her betrayal, I can’t even find the energy to care anymore. I loved her since I was a fucking kid and if I’m honest with myself, that never went away. There are still a whole lot of answers I need before she and I can begin to fix this but Blaze is right.
It’s time to get my woman back.
Chapter Twelve
Piper
I take a sip of my wine as I walk out of the kitchen and cuddle into the comfy armchair by the window that I found in a little thrift shop a couple of blocks away from my apartment. Raindrops streak down the window and I stare out at the dreary sky, the gray ominous clouds perfectly reflecting my mood for the past two days. My phone rattles with an incoming call and falls off the windowsill, crashing to the floor and I lean down and pick it up. Eden’s smiling face mocks me from the screen and I sneer as I decline the call and set the phone back on the sill. I don’t care how many times she tells me she is sorry or she was just trying to help because the damage is done and there is nothing she can do about that. Wyatt knows I’m keeping secrets from him and I’ve spent the past forty-eight hours waiting for his next move.
Then again…
Maybe I will luck out and he’ll just let it go. Shaking my head, I sigh as I take another sip of my wine. No, I know better than that. Now that he knows that I didn’t tell him the truth, it will eat away at him until he decides to finally confront me for answers. God, walking into the restaurant was such a stupid idea and I can’t believe I let Eden talk me into it. Things were good… okay, well, maybe not good but I was okay before I came face-to-face with him again and now, all I feel is turmoil. The worst part is seeing him, right in front of me, full of rage and looking better than he has a right to, reminded me just how much I love him. Not that I ever truly forgot but most days, it was easier to ignore than it is now. Closing my eyes, I lay my head back against the chair and let out a groan. I can’t believe I asked him to help me have a baby, too. Of all the stupid things I could have said, I definitely picked the worst.
He must think I’m insane.
Hell, maybe I am.
Knocking pulls me out of my thoughts and my head snaps forward before turning to look at my apartment door with a scowl. I would bet that Eden decided to drop by personally since I haven’t taken any of her calls since our “girls’ night” and I shake my head before turning back to my window. It’s not like this is it for Eden and me. She is one of my very best friends in the world, something I didn’t really have until I met her, and I’m not ready to throw all that away but she can certainly sweat this out a little. It serves her right for sticking her nose in my business and crossing more damn lines than I can count.
“Piper!”
Oh, fuck…
Wyatt’s voice bounces off the walls in the apartment and it feels like I’m moving in slow motion as I turn to stare at my front door.
This is exactly what I was afraid of and now that it is happening, I don’t know what to do. I am not anywhere near ready to tell Wyatt the truth about what tore our marriage apart and I don’t know if I ever will be but I know I can’t avoid him forever. The Wyatt I knew ten years ago was persistent and I can’t imagine that particular quality has mellowed out in the years since.
“Goddamn it, Piper! I know you’re in there.”
Sucking in a nervous breath, I down the rest of my glass of wine and set it on the windowsill before climbing out of the chair with shaky legs. I press my hand to my stomach and take another deep breath as I start slowly moving toward the door. Wyatt’s fist pounds against the other side, making the wood crack and I shake my head.
“You got this, girl,” I whisper to myself, hoping like hell I’m lying as I reach the door and pull it open. Wyatt’s hazel eyes slam into mine as he towers over me with both hands gripping the door frame around him. He’s breathing heavily and the determination steeling his gaze terrifies me.
“We need to talk.”
I shake my head. “No… I don’t think we do.”
“Well, you’re wrong,” he says as he releases the frame and gently moves me to the side so he can let himself into my apartment.
Fuck.
Shit.
Damn.
Blowing out a breath, I close the door and turn to him as he paces through my living room, his gaze taking in the decor before he freezes and I squeeze my eyes closed.
Shit.
He just saw the framed photo from our wedding that is sitting on my bookshelf.
“Look at me.”
My eyes snap open, almost like I have no choice but to obey him, and I meet his gaze as my heart thunders in my ears and my hands shake. Questions fill his stare and my body tenses, waiting for him to make the first move but he doesn’t say anything. In the closed space of my apartment, I can feel his body calling out to me, demanding that I close the distance between us and let him wrap his arms around me. A shiver runs down my spine. I swear I can almost feel it despite the five feet separating us and I resist the urge to close my eyes and soak it up.
Fuck.