“It’s okay, Megan. Tell me what it is.”

“There’s someone – Damian watch out!”

Deafening metal on metal blasts through my ears. A blinding light clouding my vision and a throbbing pain throughout my entire body. A horn is blaring, and all I feel is total confusion.

I think my leg is split in two and my breath is coming in short gasps. I never realized how loud pain was before. But it pulses in your ears, vibrates through your entire body. I look down to my right and my heart moves up my throat. “Megan!” I manage to croak out. “Shit! Megan!” She’s not moving, her hair is fanned in all directions and she’s face down, her body at an unnatural angle, blood soaking her blonde hair.

My last thought before I pass out is that I would take her secret to the grave. My father will never know she existed. He doesn’t deserve to know.

Tears are streaming down Addison’s face. “She was going to tell you about Emily.”

“Probably, but she never got the chance. It took me another three years to discover Emily existed.”

“How did you find her?”

“Reed found her.”

“You said that before.”

I stay silent, playing back the story I’d told her in the hospital so many weeks ago. Trying to stick as close to the truth then as I possibly could. “I needed a wake-up call. And finding out a little girl was orphaned in that accident was more of a rebirth than a wake up. The minute I knew she existed, my entire world changed.”

“You’re her uncle.”

I nod.

“It took me two years to clean up my act, start my business and feel confident that I could go after her and get custody. But by the time my attorneys had an argument in place, she was diagnosed with bone cancer and Thomas took over her case. When my attorneys applied for custody, he outright denied them.”

“Thomas was an orphan too.”

I sit up surprised by her sudden revelation. “How do you know that?”

“Veronica, the only other female attorney in the office, told me the day I got fired. So, since he blames you for Megan’s death, there’s no way he’d ever agree to give her to you, but Damian, you’re her family. You can take custody.”

“No, I can’t. Without bringing my dad into it, there’s no proof.”

Addison wraps her arms around me, her face buried in my chest. “I’m so sorry, Damian.”

I hold her as she cries and for the millionth time, try to think of something I could have done differently that night. But I always get to the same conclusion, I can only perfect the life I have now, the life that feels like it’s falling apart. I need to find a way to piece it back together. I let Addison in, gave her everything I had, my heart, my soul, my past. I can only hope it’s enough to convince her to choose us.

“Don’t leave tomorrow, Addison.”

I wake with a start. It’s dark in Damian’s bedroom, the sun still asleep for the night. He is peaceful beside me, his hand cupping my breast, his breathing deep and rhythmic.

My fingers trace the outline of his, and he holds me tighter, his sleep-induced mind grasping firmer onto me. Settling back into his warm embrace, I replay Megan’s tragic story . . . Damian’s story, and my heart hurts for both of them . . . for Emily. So many ‘what if’ scenarios could have changed the course of that doomed night, but life happens for a reason, and Damian’s right, we need to love the life we have—be grateful for the good and the bad.

He asked me to stay. His last words a plea, begging me not to do this to us. I don’t want to leave. I’m in love with him, it’s as simple as that, but I don’t know how to fix us. We somehow need to find each other again. But that’s not going to happen if I stay. He needs to focus on Emily and I need to focus on me, as selfish as that is.

Turning in his heavy sleep leaden arms I wrap myself around him one last time and place my lips right below his ear. The scruff on his cheek brushes against mine and I close my eyes, capturing this moment and willing my mind to hold onto it until I can see him again. “I love you,” I whisper. “I’ve loved you for a long time. Please wait for me. I promise, this isn’t goodbye, but a chance for us to start again. Better next time, with nothing holding us back.” Gently I kiss his warm skin, my nose brushing against the underside of his jaw. He twitches, his arms tightening around me, but his breathing stays deep and steady, his eyes still closed.

Quietly sliding out of his embrace, I gather my clothes and leave his apartment for the last time, effectively breaking both our hearts.

My apartment is cold and eerily silent as I enter. Boxes piled high, walls void of any decoration and all my memories securely packed away. An empty feeling settles deep in my gut, and it feels as if I’ve already left, like I’m a stranger in the place I’ve always called home.

Stripping the bed bare, I roll up the sheets, packing them away and lie down on the mattress.

I must have fallen asleep, as I’m startled awake by my front door slamming shut. Jumping off the bed, I race into the living room and see Damian storming towards me. He doesn’t stop, but wraps his arms around my body and presses me up against the nearest wall. His lips find mine, his tongue glides against my own, and a groan releases from deep in his chest.

Wrapping my legs around his hips, I kiss him back, as he keeps me pinned to the wall. “I will come for you,” he says through labored breaths. “As soon as Emily is healthy, I will come for you.”

I nod and rest my forehead against his, not sure I can find the words to tell him exactly how I feel.

“I get it. We need a restart. But so help me God, Addison Peacock, when that day comes, you better be ready for forever, because I’m not going to let you go again.”

I bury my face in his neck and hold onto him tight, memorizing his scent, the feel of his skin. “I love you, Damian.”

“I know Green Eyes, I know.

She’s been gone three months. Ninety-two days and sixteen hours to be exact. I kept her on that wall for at least twenty minutes, making sure her lips felt my presence for days after she left. I didn’t want to let her go, but she was right, we needed a fresh start, with nothing standing in our way.

Emily’s words play on repeat in my mind. “She didn’t mean to hurt you, Damian. You have to forgive someone when it’s an accident.” How such a little girl could be so knowledgeable about the human heart is mind blowing, but we are talking about Emily.

“Go see her.” I look at her sweet face and take her all in. Wisps of blonde hair are beginning to grow back, gracing her perfect round skull.

“Chill out Sweat Pea. These things take time.”

“It’s been three months.”

The longest three months of my life. Watching Emily battle that damn disease, sitting by her bedside more times than I’d like to count. When I wasn’t at the hospital I was fighting Thomas, finding ways the court would listen to my attorneys instead of whatever Thomas had to say.

“And only one month since you’ve been officially cleared of any cancer cells. I’ve been busy,” I say.

She tilts her head and crosses her arms over her chest. Women must be born with that innate ability to stare a man down.

“Don’t put the blame on me. I’m happily settled into my new home. You could have gone to her weeks ago.”

I look around the house she now calls home. It used to be my home, as well. After raising eight of her own children, my attorneys convinced the courts to give guardianship of Emily to my mother. The way Thomas was fighting me tooth and nail, this scenario was the best I could do, and I’m happy at the way it turned out. My mom knows I’m Emily’s uncle and at some point, I’ll tell Emily that truth as well, but for right now, I’m letting her enjoy her happily ever after. I’ve kept my dad in the dark. If Emily chooses to tell him one day, that’s her decision, and I’ll support whatever choice she makes.