Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89465 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89465 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
It feels like a slap in the face for him to even think I could. It also makes me wonder if he’s here because he hasn’t been able to find someone else. Old hurt rears its head once again.
“Can you just take me back home?” I ask, standing up and starting toward his vehicle.
“I can’t do that, Madison, because you’ll just continue to ignore me.”
I turn in his direction, angry and annoyed. “You need to—”
“I love you.”
Chapter 41
Chase
My heart pounds as she glares at me, her mouth hanging open.
“That’s not funny. I knew you were a manipulative bastard, but this just takes the cake,” she growls.
I stand to step closer to her, needing her to understand, and it hurts me a little to see her take a step back.
“Of all the things you could say to convince me to come back and continue to take care of the boys.” Her chin waivers as she tilts her head back, her face angled toward the sun. “This is the meanest you’ve ever been to me, but if anything, it solidifies why I hate you so much.”
She drops her eyes back to me as she lifts her arm and swipes angrily at the tears rolling down her cheeks.
“You don’t hate me, Madison, and I’m not playing with you. I love—”
“I swear. Say it again and they’ll only ever find pieces of you,” she growls.
“I thought I loved Emily.”
“Wow,” she says, spinning around and walking toward the road.
“Would you stop?”
She’s seething, her chest rising and falling so rapidly I feel like a complete asshole for not offering her one of the bottles of water her mother provided before I left town to get her.
“I love you,” I repeat. “I’ll spend the rest of my life proving that to you, but it might be a little easier if you stop fucking running from me. I’ll do anything to get you back, Madison, and the more receptive you are to that the less likely you’ll be to actually start hating me.”
“I do hate you,” she argues.
“Those tears aren’t coming from a place of hate, and although we haven’t talked about it much, I imagine you’ve been hurt as much as I have. You’re scared, and that’s okay. I can love you through that as well.”
“We were never together,” she snaps. “I was a quick, easy piece of ass to you.”
“There has been nothing easy about my pursuit of you. If I wasn’t fighting what I felt, then I was fighting you.”
She glares at me. “I’m not a hard person to get along with, Chase Woodson. You just bring out the worst in me because I’m not charmed by that sly little grin of yours like everyone else.”
“But aren’t you?” I tease, trying to hide my grin when her eyes narrow.
“You hurt me in eighth grade, and you’re continuing to hurt me now.”
I tilt my head in confusion.
“I’ve never hurt you on purpose. Despite what you think about me, I’m not a mean man. My parents raised me better than that.”
“Are you kidding me right now?” She huffs. “Oh wait, of course it wouldn’t register what you did. For me, it was life-altering. For you, it was just another night wasted with your friends.”
Something inside of me seizes when she starts to walk away.
I stop her once again, risking life and limb when I spin her around and pull her against my chest.
“Maybe when you’re not as mad, we can talk about whatever it is you’re referencing, but I swear I’m fucking sorry for that too. Add it to the long list of fuckups I’ve made. I’ll beg for forgiveness, but I’m not letting you walk away from me.”
“You have a lot of nerve,” she snaps. “Let me go.”
“If I thought that’s what you really wanted, then I would.”
Some of her resolve fades away, and all it does it make room for more tears to pool in her eyes.
“You’re killing me. Every word is another claw mark on my skin. Can’t you see that?”
“I love you,” I repeat. “I love everything about you. Your stubborn streak because it’s absolutely delicious when you’re standing your ground even when you’ve realized you’re wrong. The mean side of you that comes out when you get protective because I know you’ll protect my boys with it. I love that you sent that fucking invoice because despite what happened between us, you know your worth and demand nothing less from those around you.”
“That’s something new I’m working on,” she says, most of the anger now gone from her voice. “You hurt me.”
“I’m so sorry, baby. I let old pain get in the way of us. As much as I’d like to say it’ll never happen again, I’ve been cut pretty deep as well. What I can promise is that I’ll do my best to have open conversations with you instead of letting things fester. I don’t want a single thing coming in between us.”