Beautiful Broken Promises(89)

“The hell you do,” he interrupted.

She smiled through her bright red lips. “I do. You like pretty faces. Trust me, you’d be distracted all night by that god-awful scar.”

Oh, hell no. There went any remaining warm and fuzzy buzz I had hoped to keep. Damn her again. I didn’t even get a chance to react because the instant the word ‘scar’ left her blood red lips, it seemed as if the bar erupted.

I was suddenly moved to the side with a gentle but demanding force. Lane’s large figure stood so fast he was practically a large blur blowing past me. He came to a stop directly in front of Gemma and leered down at her.

“What the hell did you just say?” he growled through his teeth. His fists clenched tightly to his sides until they were a pale white color. I put my hand on his back, but it only caused a tremor to rock through his tense muscles. “Don’t you ever talk about her like that. I love that scar.”

Gemma stood with her mouth agape. “I… I… I…” she stuttered, clearly shocked at his forceful reaction.

Jace moved in quickly and placed his hand on Lane’s chest. I could tell he was subtly trying to move him back, but Lane wasn’t having that. Audrey dipped under Jace’s arm and squeezed in between the two big guys.

“Why am I having to ask you to leave… again?” Audrey tried to sound nonchalant, but I could hear the anger that she was trying to withhold.

Gemma glanced once again at Lane’s face and wisely decided to step away, although I really doubted she felt any remorse for her words. It was that thought that brought the catty side out in me. I couldn’t help it—I swore I wasn’t usually like that.

“Hate to break it you, but he’s been sleeping with me every night for a month. So while you get off in your bed alone over one measly night you had with him, I get the real thing, night after night,” I announced. She sneered at me and continued to move away. “And let me tell you, he’s never distracted.”

After I watched her move through the crowded bar and then out the double doors, I finally let myself turn and face Lane. Jace pounded his back and moved away, while Audrey looked at him with worried eyes. When Jace tugged her along with him, she shot me a nervous look in her retreat. I smiled at her, hoping to reassure her that I could handle this. After all, he was mine to handle.

Lane’s hands were still balled up tightly and his eyes were squeezed into thin little slits. A crinkle marred the corners of his beautiful eyes and his plump lips were pursed tightly. I reached up and gently ran my fingers over the signs of stress streaking across his face. I didn't say a word—I wanted him to speak first. I continued to run my hands across his jaw, over his cheeks, and into his hair. Over and over. Finally, I felt the tension begin to subside.

His first words surprised me. “I’m so sorry.”

“For what?” I grabbed a hold of his shirt and jerked to show my bewilderment.

“I shouldn't have been with girls like her. Why the f*ck was I wasting my time with bitches like that?” He seemed to be talking to himself, but I decided to answer anyway.

“So you could save the real stuff for me?” I laughed. It was meant to be a joke to break the heavy tension, something to bring him out of his mood.

He finally looked down at me and grabbed a hold of my face. The brown of his eyes glowed into an outer green ring so bright that it was almost hypnotizing.

When I felt his fingers brush lightly across my scar, I closed my eyes. Why did everything have to go back to that horrid thing? “She tried to make this ugly.” His voice caught, and I could hear the real pain in his words.

“Well, it kind of is.”

“Stop.”

“I just want to forget that thing is even there.”

“I don’t.” He kissed three times down the length of it. “This scar is everything. It’s everything to me. It brought my daughter back to me. It brought Braden into my life. It brought you. It encompasses everything I love about you. Your strength, your determination, your stubbornness. Please, don’t let one of my mistakes make you feel any less, because I just wouldn’t be able to stand it. And if, after all that you still feel less than beautiful, well then… I’ll just have to keep finding ways to convince you otherwise.”

It was coming—I could feel it in my bones. The moment that would forever change us. The one that would eternally alter the way I looked at the world around me. If God forbid we ever parted ways, I would forever chase this moment. I wanted to brand everything about it deep into my skin. The clinking glasses. The hoots of excitement over a game of pool. Our friends laughing and smiling. But most of all, the look in Lane’s eyes when he finally realized that his daughter wasn't the only girl that owned his heart.