Sweet Temptation (Sweet #4)(97)

The girls stood looking mystified at Angelina’s abrupt departure.

“I told you this wasn’t a good idea,” Connor muttered as he walked up beside Faith. “She’s just getting out of the hospital after a hellish experience. The last thing she’s up for is a damn welcome home party.”

Micah sighed as he scanned the room. “Look, guys. I really appreciate this. More than you know. I love all of you. I know I can be a dick, and I know I’ve kept some pretty heavy-duty shit from you. I don’t deserve your friendship, but I’m damn grateful for it. But I’d really, really appreciate it if y’all could give me some time here. I’m fighting for my life. For a woman who means everything to me.”

“I’m sorry, Micah,” Faith said in a stricken voice. “I thought ... I don’t know what I thought.”

She looked so distressed that Micah immediately pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead.

“Don’t be sorry, doll. You have a heart of gold, and the thing is, Angelina needs your kind of friendship. She’s not upset at you. She’s upset with me and rightfully so. She thinks she’s moving back to Miami.”

“And you’re going to let her?” Julie challenged, her lips turned down into a ferocious frown.

“No, I’m not,” he said quietly.

“Good,” Serena said. “She loves you, you know.”

“I know. I love her too. I just have to convince her of that fact.”

“Okay, so let’s get out of here and leave them to it,” Connor said impatiently.

Nathan pushed off the wall and walked up beside Julie. “Connor has an excellent idea. Why don’t you take me home and convince me you can’t live without me.”

Julie snorted. “Like I want you to have the big head?”

They all filed past Micah, each of the girls stopping to give him a fierce hug. He didn’t deserve their loyalty, but it felt damn good to have it. It made him feel good that part of it extended to Angelina and had nothing to do with him. She’d won them over, no thanks to any effort on his part to include her in his life.

After seeing them out, he shut the door and turned in the direction of the bedroom Angelina had disappeared into.

If there was ever a time he needed wisdom, needed just the right words to say, it was now. This was ... this was everything. His future, his happiness, his chance to have it all again. He couldn’t af ford to f**k it up.

He paused outside her door, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he slowly pushed it open and stepped inside.

She was sitting on the bed, her head down, and she was crying.

Ah hell. It took everything he had not to go over and scoop her up in his arms, but he was determined to have this conversation with her without resorting to physical manipulation. Their chemistry was off the charts, and that wasn’t what he wanted deciding their future. He wanted her heart, not just her body.

“Angel baby,” he said softly.

She looked up and quickly rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

“I’m sorry. I was so rude.”

He shook his head as he crossed the room to sit on the end of the bed. There was a respectable distance between them, and he didn’t want to be any farther away from her than was necessary.

“No, you weren’t rude. You just came home from the hospital. You’re entitled to be freaked out by a half dozen people waiting for you in your apartment.”

“It’s not that,” she said quietly. “I’m going to miss them. I really like them.”

“And me, Angel? Will you miss me if you go back to Miami?”

She looked away.

“Look at me please,” he said. “It’s time I got a chance to talk. I listened to what you had to say. I gave you space. Now it’s time for you to listen to me.”

She raised her gaze to him, her lips trembling. “Okay.”

Suddenly nervous, he stood and began to pace back and forth in front of her.

“I loved Hannah. You know that. David and I both loved her. I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with her. That was always my plan.

“When I lost her, a part of me shut down. All I could think about was getting away from a place where I saw her at every turn. I left Miami because I wanted to start a new life in a place where no one knew me and I wasn’t faced with unhappy memories on a daily basis.”

“I understand,” she said in a quiet voice.

“I didn’t think about you, Angel. I don’t say that to hurt you. To me you were still the sixteen-year-old sister of my best friend. To think about you meant I had to think about David and I wanted my past behind me.

“And then you walked back into my life, only you weren’t a teenager. You weren’t a schoolgirl, nor were you my best friend’s little sister. You were a gorgeous woman with a sexuality to match my own. But you were also the embodiment of everything I wanted to forget.

“I looked at you and I ached. I wanted you, but I also wanted you to go away. I didn’t want to let you into my life because I didn’t want to love again. I didn’t want to risk losing someone I cared about. It was a lot easier to approach sex in a casual, fun way. No strings. No love. No relationships. I wasn’t celibate in the three years since Hannah’s death. Far from it. But I never gave away any part of myself in the process. Until you.”