Chapter 24

Andre

Landon left to get beer and food, declaring we needed both, and I had neither. He took my keys so he could get back into the building, but the fucker knocked and made me get up. Probably because he thought it was good for me to not have a couch permanently attached to my ass.

“I’m coming!” I shouted when he knocked again before I made it to the door. I yanked it open, ready to roll my eyes at him, but it wasn’t Landon on the other side of the door.

It was Joelle.

“What do you want?”

She wrung her hands, twisting the shirt she held tightly between them. “Can… Can I come in?”

I huffed. “You can do whatever you want. You’ve proven that.” I walked back to the couch, wishing Landon was already back with the beer. I did not want to have a conversation with her when I was completely sober. “Did you come to say goodbye? Because you didn’t need to. I got the message yesterday.”

“I didn’t come to say goodbye. I wanted to explain.”

“That I was your what? Your pre-wedding fling? Your casual fuck before you settled down with your husband? That it was a mistake?” I stood, unable to sit there and look at her. I wanted to get away. Run. Not see her and still want her.

She was engaged to someone else. I had no right to want her.

“It wasn’t like that,” she said softly.

I snorted. “Sure. What was it like then?”

“I was engaged to Thomas, yes. We were supposed to be married the day I came here.”

“So I heard,” I spat.

“I didn’t love Thomas. I barely even knew him. My mother wanted us to get married. She owns a news station, and Thomas’s father owns another one. She wanted a merger, and I was the price.”

“What? That’s… people don’t do that kind of thing anymore.”

She smiled. “Someone forgot to tell my mother. Someone also forgot to tell her not to fuck the groom on his wedding day.”

“What? She… Wait, slow down. She slept with him?”

“Told me she was keeping him satisfied until the wedding. Because I wasn’t taking care of him. She went on all our dates, never let us be alone. I didn’t really mind because I wasn’t sure I liked him that much anyway, and by the time we were supposed to walk down the aisle…” She paused and shook her head. “I didn’t know him. I definitely didn’t want to marry him. I walked in on them fifteen minutes before the ceremony. I went to tell my mother I didn’t want to marry Thomas…”

“And they were…?”

“Yep. So I left.”

“You weren’t… You sound like it doesn’t bother you.”

“I was angry. I was hurt. I felt like an idiot. But not because of him. I didn’t want to marry him before I found out they were sleeping together. Walking away was an easy decision. I just… She’s my mother.”

“Then you came here?”

She breathed a laugh. “I drove. My honeymoon was supposed to be south, so I went north. I didn’t think about where I was going. I just left. I stopped for lunch and kept going. I ended up alongside the river and didn’t pay attention to the battery indicator. My car died a little outside MacKellar Cove. Sebastian and Cameron were driving by and stopped to help. They hooked up my car and brought me to the Inn, and they all took care of me. Let me be the crazy runaway bride.”

“They knew?”

“Well, I was still in my wedding dress. I didn’t take time to change before I left town, just to make sure my mother and Thomas didn’t try to stop me. It was kind of obvious what was going on when Sebastian and Zoey saw what I was wearing. Cameron asked if I always dressed like that.”

I closed my eyes. I was so oblivious to everything. She showed up in town in a wedding dress, and I never knew it. How many people thought I was an idiot for not seeing it? “And I was the only one who didn’t know.”

“No,” she stepped closer, reaching to put her hand on my arm. She stopped before she touched me, and I felt the loss of her touch as if she’d actually had her hand there. She drew a breath and backed up a step. “No one knew. Zoey, Piper, and Valentina were the only ones who knew the whole story. Sebastian and Cameron picked me up, and Gavin knew I was in a wedding dress when I got there, but I don’t think the guys know the rest.”

“I guess everyone will know now. When do you go back to DC?”

“I’m not going back,” she said.

“What? Why not?”

“Didn’t you hear anything I just said? I never wanted to marry Thomas. And my mother… After you left, she told me I had to go back with her, that she would force me if she had to. Thomas grabbed me, and my mother slapped me when I fought back.”

“Are you okay?” I asked, moving toward her, cupping her cheek before I thought about what I was doing. Someone touched her, hit her, someone who was supposed to love her.

She closed her eyes, her lips lifting into a small smile. “I’m better today. James and Rowan were there. They arrested my mother and Thomas, charged them with attempted kidnapping and assault.”

“Good.”

She nodded. “It is. But they’re gone. I have a restraining order against them, and they won’t be back.”

“You’ll be safe,” I said, taking a step away. Touching her was too much. She was telling me what happened, not asking me to be in her life. I had to remember that.

“I am safe. And I’m sorry for the things she said to you. She’s… I can’t excuse her behavior. But I can say she’s wrong. She doesn’t know you. She doesn’t know how kind you are, how caring. How you help others. Those aren’t qualities she values. Never have been.”

“How did you turn out so good?”

She smiled, a blush creeping up her cheeks. “I don’t think I’m anywhere near as good as I’d like to be, but I’m trying.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

“Well, I’m still hoping Omar will give me the job I applied for. If he does, then I’m staying here. If you are okay with that.”

“You can’t make your decision based on me.”

She swallowed, rolling her lips in. “Okay. I… I understand.” She extended the shirt she’d been holding. “I thought you should have this back.”

It was the tee she’d taken from me the morning I woke her up. The sweaty tee she pulled on over her head and told me how good it smelled. “Why?”

“I know I hurt you. I never meant to, but I did. I should have told you about Thomas weeks ago. I should have been honest with you. But I didn’t want to change the way you looked at me. It was selfish of me, and I don’t want to be that person anymore. I want to be someone I’m proud of. Someone who never resembles my mother. I’m returning this to you because it’s yours.”

I didn’t take it from her outstretched hand, so she set it on the couch.

“I want you to know the last few weeks have been the best weeks of my life. Meeting you has shown me what love means. I have never known how it felt to love someone, and I thank you for giving me that. For letting me love you and for helping me to believe in myself and what I am capable of. I won’t bother you anymore.” She turned and went to the door.

It took a minute for my brain to connect all the things she said, and by the time I did, she was opening the door. “Where the hell are you going?”

She turned around, her eyes widening as I stalked across the room to her, tee in hand.

“You’re not giving this back to me. It’s yours.”

“Oh. Um, okay.” She dropped her chin, biting her lip hard enough for it to turn white around her teeth.

I lifted her chin with one finger, hating the pain I saw in her watery eyes before she slammed them shut. “I’m yours, too, Joelle.”

“What?” she gasped, her eyes snapping open.

I laughed softly. “I have been so scared of losing you, of watching you walk away, that I fought how I felt about you. I stopped fighting myself yesterday, and then…”

“Then you met my mother and Thomas and thought I was leaving you.” She shook her head. “I didn’t want her to come after you. I was trying to protect you.”

“I don’t want you protecting me. I want to protect you.”

“I needed to stand up to her on my own. I needed to know I could do it. I never told her no before. Except when I left on my wedding day. I couldn’t let you do it for me, and I knew she’d be horrible. She paid my bridesmaids to be in my wedding, and I figured she’d try to pay you off, too. Get you to walk away.”

“I would never have taken her money,” I hissed.

“I know. I know. But I didn’t want her to speak to you the way I know she would have. She would have said anything. That’s why I told you to leave yesterday. I wanted to go with you, but I had to handle her. And then I had to go to the police station, and it was late and—”

I cut off the rest of her explanation with a hard kiss that had her squeaking with surprise. She parted her lips under mine and dragged my tongue into her mouth. I kicked the door closed and lifted her off her feet, moving toward the bedroom.

I barely registered the sound at the door before I heard Landon.

“Shit. I didn’t know you weren’t alone.”

Joelle pulled back from me, licking my taste from her lips.

“Go away,” I growled at my best friend.

Joelle slapped my chest. “Don’t be that way.”

“Please go away?” I tried again.

Joelle wiggled until I set her down. She turned to face Landon.

Landon glared at her.

I moved to step in front of her, but she stopped me.

She took my hand in hers and met Landon’s gaze. “I explained the entire situation to Andre, but I’d like a chance to explain to you, too. I know as his best friend that when I hurt him, I hurt you. It wasn’t fair of me.”

Landon narrowed his eyes. “You did. He skipped work today for the first time ever.”

“What?” she gasped, turning to me.

“It’s fine,” I said.

“His employees handled it. If he was still working on his own, he would have lost clients today because of you.” Landon crossed his arms and raised his brows, letting his accusation sink in.

Joelle nodded once. “I have no intention of hurting him again. I made some mistakes, and I will never be able to make up for the pain I caused, but I will do everything in my power to make him happy.”

“From DC? Because you’re going back with your fiancé and mother, right?”

Joelle shook her head. “I’m not. I never intended to. But they’re cruel people, and I wanted to protect him from them. I failed, but they will never set foot in MacKellar Cove again.”

“No family reunions?”

“Dude,” I snapped.

Joelle put her hand on my arm. “He has every right to his opinions and his anger. And no, no family reunions. I filed restraining orders against them after they tried to force me back to DC and my mother slapped me while Thomas restrained me.”

“What? Are you okay?” Landon asked, moving toward us. His gaze traveled between us, noting my protective stance and her not backing down.

“I am. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds, but it was enough to grant an emergency order of protection and get them to leave town.”

I closed my eyes, hating that I left her there alone with them. I should have stayed. I should have trusted what we had, what I knew we had.

“What are you going to do now?” Landon asked her.

Joelle shrugged. “I don’t know for sure yet. I applied to work with Omar and head up the environmental services projects he wants to implement. If I get that job, I’ll be starting from scratch.”

“What do you mean?” Landon asked.

I wondered the same.

Joelle hesitated. “Um, well, I have some clothes, but that’s it. No bank account, credit cards, no car. My mom paid for all of it, so I’m really hoping I get that job.”

“Where are you going to live?” I asked.

She shook her head. “I don’t know yet. Zoey and Piper haven’t said anything about me needing to leave the Inn, but I can’t pay for it, and I feel bad just staying there for—”

“Move in with me,” I blurted.

“Andre, I… I can’t do that to you. It wouldn’t be fair,” she argued.

“I love you. I don’t want to spend a day without you. Move in with me. I can’t afford to buy you a ring like Thomas, but if you want to get married—”

“Please don’t ever compare yourself to Thomas again. I promise you there is nothing about him that I want you to be like. You are so much better than him in every single way.”

“Okay.”

“And we’ll talk about getting married after you decide if you can handle living with me.”

“If you can handle me getting up early, I think we’ll figure it out.”

She laughed. “I’m guessing I’ll have to be up once I have a job, too, so maybe I can forgive that. As long as you let me sleep in on the weekends sometimes.”

“What if I—”

“I am still here!” Landon said, interrupting the dirty idea I was about to share with the woman I loved.

“Sorry,” Joelle said, giggling.

“Yeah, sorry. I didn’t mean to scandalize you.”

Landon shook his head. “I think I’m going to take the beer I bought and go home.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Joelle said.

Landon was already headed toward the door with his beer. “I think it’s better for all of us if I don’t have to witness this right now. I’ll see you guys this weekend or something. Glad you’re sticking around, Joelle!”

“Me, too!” she called back as the door closed behind Landon.

I turned to her and tucked the hair behind her ear, letting my fingers linger on her neck. “I hate that you went through all that with your mom and Thomas. You deserve so much better.”

“Like you?” she asked, smiling.

“Well, I hope I’m better. I have never loved someone the way I love you.”

She pulled back. “You said you’ve been in love a ton of times.”

I shrugged. “None of them ever felt like it does with you. Like I can’t get enough of you and won’t survive if you ever leave me.”

“Well, the good news is I’m not ever going to leave you. Unless you decide you’re done with me.”

I laughed. “Not happening.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“You know I love you, too, right?”

“I might have caught that in your speech, but it’s nice to hear it again.”

“I love you, Andre. I don’t know what I’d do without you. I can’t get enough of you.”

“Sounds like love to me.” I picked her up again, heading for the bedroom.

Her stomach rumbled against mine, and I stopped.

“Do I need to feed you first?”

“I need you more than I need food. Love me, Andre.”

“I do. I love you, Joelle.”

“I love you, Andre.”

I carried her to the bedroom, and much, much later, we finally came up for air. And food. And I had to admit, Landon was a damn good friend.

Who deserved his own happily ever after.