Chapter 23

Chapter

Twenty-Three

FORREST

Sitting with my back to the door, I wait for her to come inside. I can't watch, though. If I do, I think I might actually go crazy. Closing my eyes, I reach out for my mug, wrapping my fingers around the warm cup. Then I wait.

And wait.

My lips twitch into a small smile as the minutes pass because I know Brooklynn, and she's always late. Then I hear it. Her breath hitches from across the café. She's thirty minutes late, or in her world, on time.

It takes everything inside of me not to turn my head to look at her. I know she's dressed in something equally casual and sexy, wrapped together seamlessly. I've been around people who dress to impress my whole life, but there's something absolutely effortless about her style.

Then, as if my willing her is enough to make it a reality, she walks through the café. I can sense her every move behind me until she rounds the table and stands in front of me. Rising, I wait for her to sit down.

"I ordered you water, but I didn't know what else you'd want this morning," I murmur as she sinks down in the chair across from me. Taking my own seat, I watch her. She's silent. Then her eyes lift to meet mine.

Slowly, her tongue peeks out, sliding across her bottom lip before she lets out a long exhale, then she speaks. "Forrest."

It's only a single word. My name. But I feel it down to my marrow. "I told you I wasn't letting you walk away, and I meant it."

"This Kiki thing doesn't fix your parent thing," she points out.

I reach across the table and take her hand in mine. Sliding my thumb across her knuckles, I focus on her eyes. Those fucking breathtaking eyes of hers. "Fuck my parents, honey. I say that with all my heart. They are being unreasonable."

"I could never ask you to abandon your family, Forrest."

At her words, I burst out in a laugh. Her eyes widen, and her lips part at my finding her words humorous, but after all this shit, they really are. Once my laughter dies down, I enlighten her.

"I haven't abandoned anyone, Brook. They abandoned me a long time ago. They started all of this in some sort of backward attempt to control me. They don't care about my happiness. They only care about their world and want to force me to fit into it. I don't. I never have."

Her eyes fill with tears. It doesn't surprise me that she would feel deeply about this, about family. She is someone who loves her family. She doesn't understand what a cold, controlling world is like. She's never lived in it.

"What did my father offer you to break up with me? Now that I know he's been offering money to people."

She squares her shoulders, her eyes still filled with unshed tears, and then she leans forward, her words coming out in a whispered hiss, but the anger I feel coming from her isn't aimed at me. It's for my father.

"He told me to name my price, and I told him I wouldn't take a penny, then I walked away."

Pride. That is the sensation that fills my chest. Not that I thought she would ever entertain something like that, but at the same time, I know money makes people do shit that they would never normally do.

"Would your father offer me money to break up with you?" I ask.

The expression of horror that crosses her features tells me all I need to know. He wouldn't. I don't let her answer. Instead, I continue, ready to finish this conversation. I'm ready to take her home and show her how much I missed every single part of her. Head to toe.

"They abandoned me a long time ago, honey. This is the beginning of my new life, and I won't move forward without you by my side."

"Forrest," she says, that one word coming out in a hiccup.

Sliding my hand from hers, I glide my fingers up her forearm and wrap them around her elbow, giving her a gentle squeeze while keeping my gaze focused on hers and nowhere else because there is nowhere else I would rather look.

"You and me, honey."

brOOKLYNN

You and me.

Part of me thinks I should resist this, resist him, mainly because I know his parents are probably going to be a problem forever. They will likely never accept or like me. But then again, they don't accept Forrest, so what does it matter?

Then there's the way he's looking at me. He's always looked at me the same way, but for a long time, I couldn't see that look for what it was. I wasn't allowing myself to see him, in some sort of misguided effort not to rock the boat between lovers, friends, and neighbors. And he was the same.

I see him now.

All of him.

Not just the parts he allows me to see.

"I missed you, Forrest," I confess. His lips twitch into a smirk, his eyes almost sparkling at my confession. "You beyond fixed things. I had to turn my phone off because of so many notifications from people. All supportive."

He hums, releasing my elbow with another squeeze, then leans back in his chair, his body relaxing.

"I missed you more than you could know. But I can't take you walking out like that again when shit gets tough. Because I can guarantee you, shit will get tough again."

He's right.

I messed up.

I was lost inside my own head and trying to save him, my friends, and, in a small way, myself. Because allowing myself to stay would have meant it would have hurt a hell of a lot more when he decided the drama wasn't worth it and walked away.

"I don't want to ever walk away again," I say, and I mean it.

I don't want to leave him, my business, my friends. These are my people, and I never again want to be as alone as I have been. It's an awful, awful feeling. Forrest smiles, stands, and then tosses some money on the table before he walks around to the back of my chair and gently tugs it backward to allow me to stand.

But I have one more question that I need answered. I stand and turn toward him, placing my hands on his chest. I almost melt instantly at being this close to him, touching him, smelling him.

It's so fucking amazing.

I missed every damn part of him.

Every piece.

"Will you be happy never having that money? I have a feeling if we stay together, it won't happen."

His lips curve up into a smile. A wide one. And then he clears his throat before he speaks. "Funny thing about that, honey. I don't give a fuck. I'm at the point right now where I'm not expecting a dime from them—ever. I've got a coaching job and lessons lined up to help make up for my years and money wasted because I was fucking stupid. I'm coming out of this on top… no, we're coming out of this on top."

He wraps his arms around me and brings me close to him. My hands are trapped between us, still pressing against his chest. And honestly, I want them to be nowhere else.

Tilting my head back, I look up into his eyes, but not for long. His head is on the descent, and his mouth touches mine in the next breath. It's not a deep kiss, but it's hard, and it's perfect.

He sucks my bottom lip between his teeth, then nips on the flesh there before he lifts his head but doesn't release me. His eyes search mine in silence, and I forget we're in the middle of a café.

The entire world melts away when I'm in his arms. I was so stupid for walking away from him. So damn stupid. I should have stayed and trusted him. Slipping one of my hands from between us, I cup his cheek with my palm and slide my thumb along his bottom lip.

"I'm sorry," I whisper. "I should have trusted you."

He smiles. I don't know why I expected him to be angry at my words, but he's not. "Yeah, you should have, but that's okay. You will now. I just had to prove to you that I got this. That I got you. And now I have."

My body fills with a warmth that I didn't realize I was missing. An ooey-gooey warmth that consumes me. But it's interrupted when someone moves to my right. I catch them in my peripheral view. There are three people holding up their phones, recording us.

"Forrest," I whisper.

"Yup," he snaps. "Let's go."

He places his hand on the small of my back, but I don't miss the absolutely panty-dropping grin he flashes the phones. He's playing it up big for the cameras, and it's sexy as sin. Together, we leave the café, but he doesn't walk me to my car. Instead, he walks me to his, stopping when we reach it.

Turning to face him, I tilt my head back. He is still smiling, acting as if he's won the biggest prize of all, but he doesn't realize I'm the one who has won everything. He's kind, protective, and beautiful. I don't think there is anyone else in this world for me but Forrest Westwood.

"I'm taking you home, Brooklynn. To stay."