Lib Novel Page 72
“I don’t know what to tell you, babe. You pushed her too far.”
“I didn’t do a fucking thing.”
Randy cocked his head as he studied him. “You told her to leave. If you haven’t noticed yet, that woman loves you. I love you. We want you in our lives. For the first time ever, she’s thinking it won’t happen. She can’t keep hanging around hoping that you’ll accept the specialness of our situation. I can’t do it. It hurts us too much. But I really don’t know how we would be together without you. We lose you, we’ll probably lose us.”
Sean didn’t know what to say to that. He hadn’t hoped for it, because hoping always ended in pain for him. From the time he was kid, to now…he just didn’t know how to handle being happy.
“I can see you trying to work it out there in your head.” He rested his weight on his hands and leaned forward to brush his mouth over Sean’s, then he pulled away. “We don’t need a plan. We don’t need anyone to approve. We just all need each other.”
For the first time in too many years, hope filtered through him. Could they actually just say the hell with everyone else?
He looked out over the lanai and saw her there out on the beach. She was face down, crying. Jaime Alexander was sobbing her eyes out. A woman who barely ever cried, who did her best to never show emotion, had yelled at him and then ran off to cry.
“She’s crying. Not just little tears. That’s some serious…damn.”
“Of course she is. Her heart is breaking, Sean. Both of our hearts are breaking.”
Just hearing that made his own heart turn over. He looked back at Randy. “We’ve broken it off before.”
“This time is for good, Sean. If you don’t get your ass down there and beg for forgiveness, you’ll lose us both.”
He managed to get up and walked to Randy then, irritated, scared, and in so much pain; he didn’t know if he could make it. Even with the heavy medication, the pain of his injuries filtered through his body.
“I don’t know if I can do this.”
“You can.”
He didn’t want to say what he was feeling. Mainly because he felt like a coward.
It took him a little bit and a lot of effort, but he made his way downstairs and went in search of her. Randy followed him, walking just as gingerly. He found her, kneeling in the sand, her face wet with tears.
It broke his fucking heart.
“Jaime…”
“What?” she spat out. Oh, princess never did like showing her emotions.
“I shouldn’t have said it. I was trying to…”
In that moment, she looked up at him, her eyes filled with unshed tears, and he knew he couldn’t send her away. He couldn’t send either of them away. They were the reason he got out of bed every morning, the only people who would truly understand him. The only two who would love him like he needed to be loved.
He eased his way down onto the sand, knowing he would pay for it when the pain meds wore off. “I’m sorry. I was being an ass. Don’t leave.” He looked behind him to Randy. “Either of you. I want you to stay, to be with me. “
Jaime shook her head, and his heart sank.
“Are you saying no?”
“Don’t ask because you’re afraid of being alone.”
It was his turn to shake his head, and he instantly regretted it. “Afraid of being alone? Woman, I just told you two to leave. Where do you get such asinine ideas?”
“It’s why I said no to your marriage proposal. You freaked me out, and I knew that you were just upset that we might be split up as partners.”
“I proposed to you because I love you. Of all the dumbass, insane reactions.”
“And, I wasn’t ready. Randy and I talked about it. We both freaked out and ran away because, well, you were so sure and we weren’t. Different times, but we both had the same reaction. I never—” Randy coughed, and she smiled as she wiped away tears. “Randy and I never thought we would get another chance. But we have it, and I want you. I want you and Randy and say fuck everyone else in our lives. This is what matters.”
Joy filled his entire being and made him so dizzy. When he stood up, he realized it might have more to do with the pain drugs. He stumbled, and Randy caught him.