Be My Hero (Forbidden Men #3)(90)

He nodded. "And in my vision, we dance to 'Baby Love' at our wedding reception, which just so happened to be the first song you played on the jukebox that night."

I couldn't listen to anymore. I popped to my feet and lit out of the living room as quick as I could.





Chapter 22


PICK


I was almost too scared to go check, but I walked down the hall toward our bedroom, anyway. I just knew she'd be in there, packing all her things, scooping up Skylar and preparing to leave me.

When I reached the doorway, though, all she was doing was standing at the crib and looking down at the babies sleeping together. Sensing me, she said, without turning around, "You just had to wait until I fell in love with him before you told me, didn't you?"

Julian. She wasn't going to leave then, but not because of her feelings for me. She was only staying for my son. Pain slashed through my stomach. I leaned my forearm against the doorjamb and then pressed my face into it.

"I understand why you're unsettled and shocked. The entire thing is f*cking unbelievable. That's why I didn't know how to tell you. I knew you wouldn't believe me. You'd think I was insane, or delusional, or I don't know what."

She turned slowly. Tears had filled her eyes but they weren't falling. "Oh, I believe you."

I bit my knuckle, hating how far away from her I felt, how hard she was blocking me out. "Then why are you so mad?"

Her blue eyes flared with anger. Jabbing her finger toward the front of the apartment, she hissed so as not to wake the kids, "Because you just stood out there and told me you loved me, you *. But you don't love me. You love some woman you've made me up to be for the past ten years."

"Tink," I started, warning in my voice. I pushed away from the door and stepped toward her.

She held up her hand. "No. Don't you dare call me that. Don't ever call me that again. I am not your Tinker Bell. I'm Eva Mercer. That f*cking Tink is the one you love, the woman you've built me up to be in your head. Not me."

"Bullshit," I growled as I caught her face hard in my hands. "I don't even know that woman. I saw her for thirty seconds ten f*cking years ago. All I know is that I felt happy with her. Happier than I'd ever felt before. It was that feeling of peace, contentment, and satisfaction that I've been searching for. But you, Eva Mercer, are the one I fell for. You were the one who came to my home to save my ass and watch my little boy. You were the one I found sitting on the floor, playing with him and making him laugh. And it's your beautiful caring heart that makes me so eager to race home from work each night so I can feel your soft, warm body curl up next to me in bed. So don't ever f*cking tell me how I feel about you again. I know exactly how I feel. If you don't want me to call you that name again, fine. Done. But it is this person . . . " I placed my palm against her chest and pressed in. "This is the woman I love."

Her tears spilled down her cheeks. "But you probably never would've paid attention to me if it wasn't for her."

I shook my head, trying to clear it. It seemed incredibly strange to me that she was jealous of herself, that she could separate Tinker Bell from Eva. To me, they were one and the same, but I also understood exactly where she coming from.

"You know what," I said, throwing my hands in the air, defeated. "You're right. I probably wouldn't have."

When her face contorted with devastation, I leaned forward and gently kissed the corner of her mouth before brushing my fingers over her cheek. "You're not exactly the type of woman I usually go for, and I saw that Alec prick who fathered Skylar. I know perfectly well I'm not your type, either. So I'm going to be eternally grateful those glimpses made me pay attention to you. I never would've gotten to know you as well as I have or learned what an amazing woman you are otherwise."

She sniffed and shook her head even as she leaned toward me. "I think those glimpses are blinding you to what a vain, pretentious, selfish bitch I am."

"Shut up," I whispered and kissed her, harder this time. "No one bashes the woman I love." I slid my fingers down her cheeks to cradle her neck. "I've never been as happy as I've been since you stepped foot inside this apartment."

She caught my elbows, her eyes earnest. "I haven't either."

I pressed my forehead to hers. "Then what're we fighting about?"

"Are we fighting?" Her fingers trailed up to my shoulders.

I skimmed my lips over her jaw. "I think so. It feels like I'm trying to talk you into staying."

With a relenting sigh, she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me before nipping my jaw with her teeth. "You know I won't leave. You had me at 'bullshit.'"

I smiled and then groaned when her mouth started traveling south, down my throat. Lifting my chin to let her do whatever she liked, I swallowed when she licked her way over my pulse. Her fingers smoothed along my shoulder and down my back.

I arched a brow. "So I've been blathering like an idiot about how much I love you because . . . ?"

She made a humming sound in the back of her throat, which sent an alarming rush through me and had me harder than I already was. "Because I like listening to you blather about how much you love me."

I chuckled. "Evil woman. I'm going to have to punish you for that."