She’d also refused to text him back and let him know she’d made it home all right. But now in the light of day, instead of feeling as if she’d somehow “won,” she just felt like shit. Guilty that maybe he’d worried about her all night, and ashamed that she’d reacted like she had rather than explaining how much he’d hurt her feelings.
Her head ached, and Taylor knew she wasn’t going to get much work finished until she’d done what she could to make things right with Eagle. She pulled herself out of bed and headed for her shower. She could text him back, but she wanted to talk to him face to face. Wanted to tell him in person how much his words had cut her, but also let him know that she forgave him.
She needed Eagle in her life. She’d give him a second chance because she truly believed he was sorry for what he’d said.
After her shower, Taylor felt a little better. She put on a pair of jeans and an old comfortable sweatshirt. She brushed her hair and ignored the way her curls seemed to be more out of control than ever.
She headed for the kitchen, scooping up her phone along the way. Her plan was to eat breakfast, then haul her ass over to Eagle’s apartment. If he wasn’t there, she’d go to Silverstone to find him.
She’d just opened her refrigerator when there was a knock on her door.
Frozen in place and barely daring to breathe, she couldn’t help but think about Eagle’s words from the night before. Was this the guy who called himself Thanatos, come to hurt her like Eagle had said? It was an absurd thought, but now that the seed had been planted, and she could admit how stupidly she had acted yesterday, Taylor couldn’t move.
It was too early for anyone to be at her door. Six thirty in the morning wasn’t a time most normal people showed up at someone’s apartment.
Staring at the door across the room as if it would somehow magically disappear and she’d come face to face with an ax-wielding murderer, Taylor jerked when the phone she still had in her hand vibrated.
She quickly looked down, ready to silence it, fearing that whoever was on the other side of the door would inexplicably be able to hear the vibrations.
Instead, she blinked in surprise at the text that had just arrived.
Eagle: It’s me, Flower. I’m at your door. Are you awake? Let me in. Please?
What was Eagle doing there so early in the morning? Shit, was something wrong? Was he about to leave on a mission? Taylor would never forgive herself if that was the case and she childishly refused to see him. She’d already decided to find and talk to him anyway.
Closing the fridge, she hurried over to her front door and peered through the peephole. It was a stupid habit—of course she wouldn’t recognize anyone standing there. But the man wasn’t carrying a bloody ax, and he kept running his hand through his hair exactly the way Eagle did.
She kept the chain on the door and cracked it open. “Eagle?”
“Yeah, Flower, it’s me. Can we talk?”
Without a word, she closed the door, took off the chain, and reopened it, gesturing for Eagle to come inside.
His shoulders were slumped, and he looked as tired as she felt.
The second the door was shut, Taylor said, “I’m sorry.”
He said the same thing at the exact same time.
They looked at each other for a heartbeat, then, as if they’d planned it in advance, they stepped closer and wrapped their arms around each other.
Being in Eagle’s arms felt so right, especially because she was so conscious of the fact that she’d almost lost him.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated against her hair. “I was an ass, and you had every right to call me on it.”
Taylor shook her head, but didn’t move out of his embrace. He felt too good against her. “No, I should’ve stayed and talked to you. Not acted like a spoiled child by calling you names and stomping away.”
It was Eagle who pulled back first. “No, you were right. Don’t you ever take shit like that from me again. Call me an asshole, walk away, do what you have to, but don’t stand there and let me hurt you with my words again.”
After swallowing hard, Taylor admitted, “You did hurt me.”
“I know,” Eagle said without hesitation. “And that’s why I haven’t slept at all. I kept replaying my words and the look on your face. I might as well have punched you. I’ll never forgive myself for it.”
“Well, you’re going to have to,” Taylor said firmly. “Because you were right. I was stupid. I gave that guy my home address, didn’t get his last name, his license plate number, or anything else about him. That’s asinine for a normal woman, but for me, it’s doubly so.”
“You are a normal woman,” Eagle insisted.
Taylor shook her head. “I’m not. And that’s okay. I’m different, and it’s taken me a long time to come to terms with that, but it is what it is. My brain isn’t magically going to fix itself. I’m not going to wake up one day and recognize you or anyone else. I went through a lot of therapy when I was little, and none of it ever worked. I need to be more aware of my surroundings. Not everyone is as nice as you and your friends. I’m going to try to do better.”
Eagle stared at her for so long, Taylor began to get nervous. “Eagle?”
He simply shook his head. “I’m just trying to understand how you can be so forgiving,” he said. “I fully expected to have to grovel for hours just to get you to open the door.”
“You hurt me,” Taylor said, “but we’re moving on. It’s what friends do, right?”
He frowned slightly, there and gone. “Right,” he said in a tone Taylor couldn’t read.
“I don’t want to lose you,” she admitted. “I like having you in my life. I like talking to you and beating you at pinball. I like your friends, and I admire what you do. If I turned my back on everyone who ever hurt me, I’d be even more alone than I am now. I need to start forgiving and stop holding grudges.”
“When you didn’t respond to my text, I drove over here last night,” Eagle admitted. “I had to make sure you’d gotten home safely. I saw your car in the lot and a light on in your apartment. Only then did I think I could get to sleep, but instead, I kept seeing your face, and knowing how much I hurt you kept me awake.”
“You drove all the way over here?” Taylor asked incredulously.
“I did.”
“Wow, okay, that’s probably one of the nicest things anyone’s ever done for me.”
He huffed out a breath. “If that’s the nicest, then I need to work harder.”
They smiled at each other, and Taylor felt as if a ten-pound weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
“How do you feel this morning?” he asked. “Besides being tired and having a headache?”
“How do you know I have a headache?”
“Because you’re wincing at the light from the kitchen. And your eyes are swollen, so it’s obvious I made you cry last night.”
It was amazing how he could read her. “I took some over-the-counter meds,” she told him. “I’ll be okay.”
“Your neck sore?”
“Not as much as I thought it might be,” Taylor said honestly. “I’m starving, though. I didn’t eat dinner last night.”