“No, you’re not!” I yelled just as her door closed.
Then I exhaled a breath, shaking my head. “Who am I kidding? Of course she is.”
“Any reason for that?”
I felt Lachlan inch toward me before I heard his voice. Lifting my eyes to see he was only a breath away, all I could do was shrug.
“She brought you back to me.”
He reached for a tendril of hair, pushing it behind my ear. “I’ll always come back for you, Julia.”
His gaze bore into mine for several moments, allowing his promise to sink in.
“And, technically, the cupcakes brought you back to me.”
I laughed, averting my gaze. “I never could say no to a cupcake.”
“Neither could I.”
I glanced between our hands, each of us still holding a cupcake. If anyone walked in and saw us standing like this, they’d probably think it strange.
For us, though, it was perfect.
“Can we talk?” he asked timidly, as if waiting for me to turn him away because of all the hurtful things we’d said to each other.
“I’d like that.”
Cupcake in hand, I led him toward the couch and lowered myself onto one end as he sat a few feet away. Still close enough for me to smell his delicious scent, but a bit farther away than he’d normally be.
“Do we still have to hold these?” He lifted his cupcake. “Is she going to yell at us if she learns we set them down?”
“She might. After all, she is my daughter. She can be quite willful and headstrong.”
He nodded, blowing out a subtle laugh under his breath. “She certainly can be. It’s one of the things I love about her.” He swallowed hard. “That I love about you.”
My throat constricted at how easily he admitted it, despite everything that had transpired today. He made it appear so effortless, but I knew the truth. Knew how scared he was of giving someone else his heart after everything he’d lost.
Yet he didn’t let that stop him from giving me his heart.
And I had a feeling he’d continue giving it to me, regardless of whether I accepted it. Love didn’t stop just because we willed it to. Some forces were outside our control.
Meeting Lachlan taught me that.
He set his cupcake on the coffee table, then grabbed mine, placing it beside his. When he faced me again, we both spoke at the same time.
“Listen, Julia—”
“Lachlan, I—”
We stopped short, then laughed nervously.
“Normally, I’d do the gentlemanly thing and say ladies first…” He ran his fingers through his hair, “but not right now. I owe you an apology. In truth, I owe you more than just an apology, but it’s all I have.”
I nodded toward the table. “You did make me cupcakes.”
“True. But even cupcakes are a shite consolation prize, considering how badly I fucked up today. And that’s the truth of it. I. Fucked. Up. I was a daft prick. The things I said to you, the things I called you…” He shook his head sadly. “That’s not who I am. Sure, I can be a hothead sometimes, and I own that. But after the strength you showed by facing your own personal demon today…” He swallowed hard. “I should have supported you. Should have shown you compassion. Shown you love. Instead, I did the exact opposite. I did what I knew would hurt you the most.” He raised his anguished eyes to mine. “I was no better than him.”
“You’re nothing like him.” I grabbed his hands, the feeling of his flesh against mine comforting. “You must believe that. You’ve shown me compassion every day since we met.” I cupped his cheek, savoring in the scruffiness of his unshaven jawline. “You’ve shown me love every day since we met. Nick wouldn’t even know the meaning of the word. All he knows is control and manipulation.”