Bishop pulled me onto his lap and wrapped his arms around me tightly. “I never once blamed you for the baby. And I can’t imagine the fear you felt when I said we should try again. I’m so sorry, Abby. I don’t care if you never want to try again. All I want is you.”
Warmth radiated throughout my entire body at his words. I ran my finger along his perfect jawline and whispered, “I want to have a baby.”
He winked and flashed me that crooked smile of his. “I hope with me.”
I lightly chuckled and placed my hand on the side of his face. “Yes, with you.”
Bishop chuckled back. “Callie is going to kick my ass.”
I frowned.
“She’s my therapist. I told her you were coming over here today, and she told me not to sleep with you.”
My eyes went wide. “Oh, oops.”
Bishop laughed again.
I chewed nervously on my lip. “How do we do this? I mean, do we date?”
Bishop’s eyes met mine. “I love you, Abby. I’ve never stopped loving you. I wish, just as much as you do, that I could go back and change the past two years. The things I did, said, felt…but I can’t. All I can do is try to make it up to you and show you every day that you’re the only woman I’ve ever loved. Ever wanted.”
I pressed my fingers to his lips. “Stop. We both agreed that we’ve made mistakes and that the past is the past. I want to look forward to the future, and if I’m lucky enough to have you back, then that’s all I care about, Bishop. You are all I care about. I love you so much.”
Cupping my cheek in his hand, Bishop kissed me. In that one kiss, I felt all the bitterness that we’d both carried over the last two years melt. All the regrets, pain, anger, sadness. That one kiss wiped it all away.
Bishop finally broke the kiss and leaned his forehead on mine. “I know you were looking at a rental yesterday, but I’d really love for you to come back home.”
I pulled my head back and studied him. “Wait, how did you know I was looking at a rental?”
He frowned slightly. “Two years away from Boggy Creek and you forgot how quickly gossip spreads in this town.”
I was positive my mouth was hanging open in shock. “But that fast? How?”
“I’m going to guess the listing agent probably said something. Someone overheard, then told someone in Annie’s, and the word just spread.”
I shook my head. “Damn small towns.”
Bishop smiled and tapped my nose with his finger. “What do you say? Will you come home?”
Is this really happening? “I’m so afraid this is a dream, and I’ll wake up back in Boston.”
He raised a single brow on his handsome face. “Then I better show you it’s not a dream.”
He flipped me back onto the bed and crawled over me. My stomach dipped at the anticipation of Bishop being inside of me again.
He leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips before settling between my legs.
“Bishop.” My voice cracked, and I knew he could hear my nervousness. He stopped and looked down at me.
“I, um…I went to see a therapist here in town. I’ve only seen her once; she was recommended to me by a friend in Boston who’s also a therapist. I spoke a lot about you and the baby we lost. Mostly about my fear of you not forgiving me, of being a coward and wasting these last two years. Also, how to make a life again in Boggy Creek, possibly without you.”
Sadness swept across his face, and he moved off of me and lay on his side. I did the same, facing him.
“Did you see a therapist in Boston?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No. But like I said, I met a good friend, and she really helped me a lot.”
He smiled and ran his hand up and down my arm. “I’m glad you had someone to talk to, Abs.”
I dug my teeth into my lower lip, pondering my next question.
Bishop chuckled as he reached up and pulled it free. “Talk to me, Abby.”
“Would you like to go with me to my next appointment?”
A brightness returned to his eyes. “Really?”
I nodded. “Yes. I wish I had gone with you when you asked me. Maybe if I had, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.”
“Abby, you’ve got to stop beating yourself up.”
“I know, I know. I just hope you know how much I regret leaving. I’ve missed you so much, Bishop.”
He reached for me and rolled onto his back, settling me on top so I straddled him. He stared up at me with a wicked smile. “We’ve done enough talking. Why don’t you show me how much you’ve missed me?”
I pushed down and rubbed against his hard-on, causing us both to moan. Shifting up onto my knees, I positioned Bishop at my entrance and slowly eased down until he was completely inside of me.
“Fuuuuck. I’m not going to last long, Abby. I want to come inside you again.”
Leisurely moving up and down, I nodded. “Yes. I want you to.”
Bishop grabbed my body and lifted his hips. I sucked in a breath at how deep he went and then sighed in pleasure.
I placed my hands on his chest and picked up my rhythm. “Bishop. Oh God, yes! Oh God!”
“That’s it, baby…use me to make yourself come. Christ, you’re so goddamn sexy. That’s it, Abs. You feel so good, sweetheart.”
I moved faster, and the sound of Bishop moaning nearly made me orgasm. I sat up, and the feel of him so deep inside of me was more than I could take. The moment I opened my eyes and saw him looking up at me, I lost the fight. I came hard and fast.
From the look on Bishop’s face, he was just as close. He called out my name and sat up, wrapping me in his arms while he came right along with me.
When our bodies were spent, Bishop dropped back on the bed and I followed. I wasn’t sure how long I lay on his chest, listening to his heartbeat go from pounding to slow and steady.
Lifting up, I moved to his side, and Bishop turned and drew me against his body, holding me like he was afraid I would leave again.
“I swear to you, I’ll never hurt you again, Bishop. Never.”
He tightened his arms for a moment, then loosened his grip. We both drifted off to sleep.
Bishop
A feeling of utter happiness washed over me when I woke up with Abby in my arms later in the afternoon. I still couldn’t believe she was finally back.
I gently moved away from her, then rolled over and got out of bed. Glancing at the clock, I breathed a sigh of relief. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep; it just felt so fucking good to have Abby’s warm body up against mine. I creeped into my closet and grabbed a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve shirt. We still had two hours before everyone started to show up, and I needed to get a few things set up outside.
As I made my way to the bathroom to take a quick shower, Abby groaned and rolled over. I paused to see if she had woken up. When I didn’t hear her make any other sounds, I slipped into the bathroom, shut the door, and turned on the shower.
After a quick wash, I got dressed and went back into the bedroom. I stopped when I saw Abby asleep in the bed. Her light brown hair was spread out across the pillow, and her lips were arranged in a peaceful smile. She looked like Sleeping Beauty.
I wasn’t sure how long I stood there staring before I forced myself to leave the bedroom. After searching for my phone, I finally found it and headed out to the garage. I pulled up Kyle’s number and hit it.