Page 58 of Seven Summers Ago
“I mean, if you need to go.” I give a little shrug with one shoulder, afraid to move too much and show off parts of me I shouldn’t.
“Rosie.” He breathes out my name and goosebumps skim across my skin. “Do you want me to go?”
Biting my lower lip, desire aches low in my belly, but it’s mixed with the constant throbbing, and I shake my head.
And that’s all it takes.
Beck lowers himself onto the bathmat and sits next to the tub so we’re facing one another. He smiles and gives me a wink, as if to say,don’t worry, I got you.
Just like he always has.
It’s almost enough to distract me from the pain that’s like a barbed wire coiled around my legs and stomach. Almost. I smile and exhale as I close my eyes and lean my head against the cool tiled wall.
18
BECK
Gazing at Rosie in the tub takes me back to both simpler and harder times. It’s like no time has passed at all and we’re suddenly right back to where we were all those years ago. She’s beautiful, with her dark auburn waves pulled up, exposed freckles on the tops of her shoulders, and her eyes closed.
Just…breathtaking. I’m a dick for thinking it. I’m even more of a dick for looking.
But no matter how many times I tell myself she’s taken, that she belongs to another man, in my heart—she’s mine.
My fingers fidget in my lap and I drop my eyes to try to focus on them because continuing to stare at her is pure torture. “So your fiancé—West—I’m assuming he knows all about your illness and is supportive?”
“He’s as supportive as he knows how to be,” she admits quietly, releasing a low breath after the words have escaped.
Cautiously I lift my gaze to her, and I can’t help the defensiveness that rises in me. “What does that mean?”
“He always makes sure the kitchen is stocked with tea and ice cream. And he’ll take care of Charlie if I need to go to an appointment. Unless he’s working. Then he’s hired a nanny to help out.”
“A nanny?” My brows lift.
“Yes, Beck. A nanny.”
Intensity rises in my gut. “Why can’t he make it a point to just be there? For Charlie, for you?”
“I don’t know. I guess not every guy is as perfect as you,” she bites out, then clamps her mouth shut like she’s sorry for it.
I don’t know whether I should be offended or flattered.
“Ha,” I bark out, leaning my head back too hard against the wall. “I’m far from perfect. You and I both can attest to that.”
She doesn’t respond.
Staring up at the ceiling, I try to focus on the dust in the fan while I speak. “If I were perfect, I would’ve put my ego aside and chased after you when you left.” I’m not even sure I should be saying what I’m saying. But I keep going anyway, lowering my gaze to meet hers. “Hell, I should never even have let you leave in the first place. If I hadn’t…well, if I hadn’t, I would’ve known about Charlie sooner. I could’ve been there for her…for you. We could’ve been a family. Like we always planned.”
“Beck,” she finally says, and my name echoes in the hollow of the bathroom.
I’m tempted to keep going. To say all the things I should’ve said to her seven summers ago. But she’s giving me the look like I shouldn’t. So I don’t.
“You’re here now,” is what she whispers, and her words hum across my skin.
I dip my chin and swallow back all the things I want to say, all the remorse.
We sit in silence for a few torturous moments.
“Want a cold washcloth for your forehead?”
