Page 140 of The Complete Truth Duet
But fuck that. She was mine.
Shane.
Penn.
Whoever I became in the next life. Cora was always mine.
My anger erupted as well. “How am I a fraud?”
“Oh, let me count the ways. Skiing, MIT…” She opened her arms wide and spun in a circle. “This place. My Penn was content sitting on a ratty couch with me. My Penn spent roughly nine percent of his weekly income on cupcakes for me and my girls. My Penn wore tattered jeans and boots.”
I made a show of looking down at my workout clothes. “This is hardly a suit.”
“How much did those shorts cost, Shane?”
“Stop fucking calling me Shane.”
“It’s your name! If you want me to accept this new you, then you have to accept it too.”
I sucked in what I hoped would be a calming breath. It wasn’t. Not in the least. If anything, those few seconds gave me a pause to think. “So let me get this straight. You’re pissed that I have a hobby, a college degree, and money?”
“I’m pissed because the last few months have been nothing but a ruse, and I fell in love with a man who doesn’t exist.”
I planted my hands on my hips and then whispered ominously, “Oh, I exist, Cora.” I took a long step toward her, fully expecting her to back away, but she held her ground. And with a few more strides, I made it my ground too. With one hand, I found her hip. The other went to the back of her neck, tipping her head to force her gaze to meet mine.
My frustration ebbed as I took in her pink and tear-stained cheeks, but the moment those life-altering blue eyes of hers landed on mine, she robbed me of all anger.
Sliding my hand around to cup her cheek, I used my thumb to clear the dampness beneath her eyes. “I know I exist because for the four years before I met you and for the weeks since I lost you, I didn’t want to. My sole purpose for the last few years has been to make Thomas pay for what he did to Lisa—even before I knew who he was. I breathed because I had to. My heart beat because it had to. I put food in my body because I had to. But it was all just a means to an end. And then I met you. Cora, baby, one minute in that tiny-ass bathroom with you and I more than existed. I was alive again.”
I didn’t wait. I didn’t ask for permission. I just kissed her.
Hard and long. Slow and reverent.
My mouth didn’t open.
And neither did hers.
But it was by far the deepest kiss I’d ever offered her.
It was filled with apology.
Hope.
Gratitude.
Regret.
It was words unspoken.
Lies unraveled.
Lost and found.
I kissed Cora with the truth—all of it—for the very first time.
She pulled away first, but she didn’t go far.
“Penn,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes again.
Relief flooded my veins. “I’m right here.” I caught her wrist and guided her hand up to rest over my heart. “It’s me. It’s still me.”
“I want to go home,” she cried. “Something has to make sense again. I just want to go home.”
I’d pushed her too hard. Too fast. Too much. She’d asked for time, but I’d been so hell-bent on getting her back that I hadn’t properly considered the emotional and physical toll all of this would take on her.
Lies were light and fluffy. Made to order. Easy to digest. Impossible to hold on to.
But the truth was dense. A boulder made of magnets, the Earth being the north to its south. The truth could crush a person with nothing more than reality.
And right then, as she face-planted into my chest, it was crushing us both.
Movement caught my eyes, pulling my attention up. Our little altercation had drawn a crowd. Drew, Savannah, River, Isabel, and Catalina were all standing in the hall, concern blazing in their eyes.
I looked at Drew first. “I need the bedroom.”
“Yeah. Sure. Go for it,” he said, stepping out of the way.
She wanted Penn. She wanted comfort. She wanted something to feel normal again.
I could do that.
“Close your eyes,” I whispered.
When she didn’t object, I put an arm at the back of her legs and lifted her off her feet.
River’s eyes were wide as I carried her broken mother toward my bedroom.
“It’s okay,” I mouthed to her.
She nodded, unconvinced.
Just before I shut the bedroom door, Savannah—God bless that kid—grabbed her arm and chirped, “I smell bacon. Let’s go check it out.”
When the door clicked, I set Cora onto her feet and kissed her forehead. “Stay there. I’ll be right back.”
After shoving the nightstand and the armchair into a corner, I snatched all the blankets off the bed and then dragged the mattress onto the floor. On my way to the linen closet in the bathroom, I pulled the curtains tight, blocking out as much of the early morning sun as I could. I didn’t have a quilt like the one Cora had used on her bed, but there was a thin blanket that would be close enough.
