Wrong for You (Before You #3)(66)

“That’s not true.”

“It is. My mother told me she regretted not aborting me.”

Violet’s stomach somersaulted. “No,” she whispered. What kind of mother said that to her child?

“It’s true. Then, the man I loved as a father walked out the door when I told him about Brad. Do you know what he said?”

She shook her head.

“That he couldn’t look at me the same way again. Then he died in a car crash that night. He never had the chance to take it back and honestly, I don’t know if he would have. And Brad…he didn’t want me. He didn’t bother with me until a month ago, and as much as I’d love to have him and my half-brothers in my life, I wonder if they only want to be in mine because of Chasing Ruin. Even so, I invited them to visit in a few weeks.”

His eyes clouded over and he looked totally shattered. The pain on his face nearly ripped her heart apart. She hated that his family made him doubt himself and believe he wasn’t worthy of love, because he was.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Chasing Ruin. It was stupid, but I wanted you to know the real me, not some fictional guy that plays in a band that the world thinks they know.” He shook his head. “Then I was so wrapped up in you that I was afraid I’d lose you if you knew I lied.” His voice shook. “I was so f*cking desperate to keep you. You saw me, the real me, and you still wanted me and I couldn’t even understand why.”

She gazed up at his face, the same face that invaded her dreams every night since she walked away from him, and her eyes swam with unshed tears. She didn’t know what to say. To her, he was perfect. Why didn’t he understand that?

He swallowed and leaned his forehead against hers. “If you say you want me out of your life, I’ll let you go, but I need you to know I loved you and I still do, Little Violet. Everything I felt for you was real. You’re it for me.”

Her heart pumping out of her chest, she brushed her lips against his. “Alec, I don’t―”

“I know you live in Montana and I live in LA and I travel a lot, but I can’t imagine not having you in my life.”

“I applied to UCLA law school and every other school in southern California.”

“You did? Why?”

“Because I miss you and I love you and I want to be with you.” She cupped his face so she could look in his gorgeous dark blue eyes as he listened to her words. She wanted to see how they affected him. He needed to hear them as much as she needed to say them. “Don’t you get it? I don’t care about your secrets. They’re your past. They don’t mean anything. I love the man you are. You’re generous, caring, and protective.”

He shook his head to disagree and she pressed a finger against his lips so she could finish. “Yes, you are. You helped me raise money for the Foundation, you arranged this fundraiser, you took care of me when I drank too much, and you took care of your sister your whole life.”

“Not really.”

“Taylor sung your praises every day when I talked to her on the phone so I know exactly what you did for her.”

“I didn’t do enough,” he said darkly.

“Nobody believes that except you.” She kissed him again, letting all her emotions pour out of her so he knew how much she loved him and needed him in her life. His tongue reached inside of her mouth, circling hers in a lazy spiral that promised the world. “So, yes, I hate that you lied about Chasing Ruin, but I understand why you did it and I forgive you.”

“You do?”

Nodding, she reached up and tangled her hands in his silky, dark hair. “I want to build a life together if you want me.”

A soft, sexy smile lit up the dazzling contours of his face and she’d never seen anything so beautiful in her life. It literally squeezed the air out of her lungs. “Little Violet, I didn’t know it, but I’ve been waiting for you my whole life. Of course, I want you. That was never in question.”

He laced his fingers between hers and pulled her down the hallway.

“Where are we going?” she asked as they passed the doors to the ballroom.

“Back to my house.”

She stopped walking. “Wait, what about the fundraiser?”

“We played. The guests already gave their money. We don’t need to stay.”

“Annette needs me.”

“No, baby, I need you.” His lips crushed against hers, showing her exactly how much he needed her. It was a kiss filled with love, possession, adoration and thirty days of missed opportunities. He groaned as he pulled his mouth away, his lips moving along the side of her face until he nipped her earlobe and her heart stopped for a beat. “By the way, Annette said she’d see you next week,” he whispered.

“What?”

Amusement lit his entire face. “You don’t leave until next week. She leaves tomorrow.”

“How?”

He shrugged. “She said to tell you you’re welcome.”

Her smile widened. “You think a week is enough time together?”

“Not even close.” He tangled his hands in her hair. “I won’t be satisfied until I can see your face every morning, and maybe not even then because wrong or not, you’re mine, Little Violet.”

“And you’re mine.”