Unexpected Arrivals(61)
“I never thought I’d hear from you again, Cora. The months after you left were not my finest hour.”
Her thumb stroked my cheekbone and then grazed my jawline before she spoke. “I worried about you. Hannah tried to keep me informed, but she said you cut her and Neil out not long after you moved out.”
My fingers wrapped around her wrist and moved her hand from my face. I held it loosely between us. The opportunity presented itself, and I had to take it. “I made a lot of mistakes.”
“Me too.”
I doubted very seriously we were talking about the same things. “No, babe. I made mistakes that might change the way you feel about me.”
She huffed a bit of a laugh. “That makes two of us.”
“How much did Hannah tell you?” This might help me figure out how to delve into my admission.
Her teeth tugged her bottom lip into her mouth where she chewed on it for several long seconds like she was trying to find the best way to tell me what she already knew I’d done. “I heard you gave your liver a run for your money.”
“Why does everyone think I was a raging alcoholic?”
“I don’t think anyone believes you were an alcoholic. Neil and Hannah were only concerned about your sudden lifestyle switch. And when you shut them out, that increased tenfold.”
“Right.”
“I also know you became friendly with the owner of a bar, and of course, there’s Chelsea.” She held my stare, yet instead of anger, I saw sorrow.
“I’m sorry. I never would have touched another woman if you’d told me our separation was temporary. I would have waited had I had any inclination.”
“Don’t apologize. I don’t like it, but I did nothing to stop it. I knew about it when it was going on, which was why you didn’t hear from me. And trust me, it took everything I had not to reach out and beg you to wait. The only reason I didn’t was because that wouldn’t have been fair to either of us.”
“I would have killed to hear your voice.” My mind drifted back to the place of darkness after she’d left, the one where I didn’t give a shit what or who I did, I just searched for pleasure to kill the pain.
“I wasn’t perfect, either. I dated. I played. It just wasn’t ever right. And the hours I was keeping at work kept me from falling too far down the rabbit hole.”
Even though I didn’t want any details from her, I had to give her the chance to ask me questions before we shut this topic down permanently. “I don’t want to know. I can’t stand the thought of another man touching you, and I’d prefer to pretend like they never did. If there’s anything you need to ask, I think you should do it now. Let’s clear the air completely, and then decide if we can move on. Because if we can, I never want to bring it up again. We weren’t together, and it’s not fair for either of us to hold that time against the other.” That was easy for me to say since I’d been the one to act like a slut.
“Was there anyone other than the woman who owns the bar? What’s her name—Letty?”
We’d talked about Letty and Chelsea. She also heard about Eric and Cason. I’d mentioned them on numerous phone calls, and while I had assumed she knew something had taken place with Letty, I had never admitted to it.
“Colette, but yes, Letty.” I wasn’t sure she really needed a name, though I gave her one.
“So one?”
“And Chelsea.”
“Wow. I didn’t realize you and Chelsea had done anything. I thought it was platonic. You really enjoyed your time away, huh?” She swatted playfully at my chest, but I caught her hand.
“Cora…”
“Were you safe?”
I looked her dead in the eye and made sure she saw the truth in my next sentence. “I’ve never been with another woman unprotected. Not once. And Chelsea is nothing more than a friend, I promise.”
Her pupils dilated just slightly, and her chest swelled with something akin to pride, although I wasn’t sure why.
“Anything else?”
She shook her head. “You?”
“Did you, uh…um—fool around?”
She held my stare and squared her shoulders. “Yes. With Henry from work. Huge mistake, and it caused a lot of problems.”
“Is that what spurred your desire to come home?” I had to have confirmation that she chose me and not that she simply had to get away from the guy in her office.
“No, James. I want to come home because that’s where I belong.”
There was no further discussion of our past when I took her mouth to seal our future.
***
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Cora would let go of our time apart as easily as she did. I assumed it would come back up, that she’d have more questions, try to delve into the depths of my misdeeds, even insist I stop communicating with Chelsea, but not once did she broach the subject the entire time I was in Paris.
She dragged me all over the city doing the tourist bit, and I loved every minute of it. It was as if time ceased to exist, and the world ushered us into a cocoon of isolation where the two of us reunited. Every minute we spent together—whether it was at the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe—was perfection. I’d laughed when she told me we were going to Disneyland Paris, but we had the time of our lives with Mickey and the gang. The Louvre and Notre Dame were just as magnificent as I’d expected them to be, yet it was magical getting to experience them with Cora by my side.