I could hear the smile in his tone but my attention was back on Trey. He had to be the hottest guy I’d ever seen. Way better looking than Jake. But right then with that fake grin on his face, his posture stiff, his eyes distant, his social mask firmly in place, he was downright unattractive.
Emily Walker had taught me a great many things. To my way of thinking, the most important lesson was to pay attention. To look beyond what people showed you—to the hurt that lies beneath. Not to listen to the words people spoke but to hear the meaning behind those words.
I held Trey’s icy stare and contemplated Hadley’s certainty I had what it took to stay strong and break through his force field—to dig out what pained him.
Confidence took root.
I see you, Trey Durum.
I. See. You.
10
Addy saw it.
She saw everything I didn’t want her to see, and instead of feeling annoyed, I felt a shiver of excitement. But when Brady entered the kitchen and dropped a kiss on Hadley’s forehead before he dropped the bags on the counter, that excitement turned to guilt, then to anger.
I’d never be accepted into the Walker family like Brady had. And that pissed me right the fuck off. Like his daughter, Jasper saw too much. He knew I’d fucked up on my last mission, he knew the result of that put his niece, Liberty, in grave danger, and he knew my reputation. It pissed me off because had I been in the right frame of mind and thinking, I would’ve remembered all the reasons I needed to stay away from Addy.
My latest fuck-up was arguably bigger than my last. Addy would be caught in the crossfire. Shy, innocent Adalynn who’d sweetly given herself to me despite all of her hang-ups.
Now what am I supposed to do?
“Trey?” Addy called.
“Yeah?”
“I asked if you wanted a plate.”
“A plate?”
Addy blinked, then her eyes narrowed and again she saw too fucking much.
“Would you like a plate for your patty melt or are you good to eat it over the wrapper?”
Jesus, how much of the conversation had I missed?
“Wrapper’s fine.”
Addy handed me my sandwich, which I lamely took but didn’t move. Then she went about sorting the rest of the food. When she was done and Hadley and Brady had walked to her table, leaving the two of us alone in her kitchen, I felt the heat of her stare and looked up.
So damn beautiful.
So damn sweet.
I wanted to promise her the world. Promise I’d bury all the bad shit that infested my brain if she’d promise I could wake up every morning next to her. Promise I’d make her happy if she promised not to give up on me.
For the first time in my life, I wanted what Carter had. I wanted a pretty wife, I wanted our children to fill the home I gave her. I wanted to go to sleep next to Adalynn knowing she saw too much, knowing she knew me, the real me. And she knew, not because I told her but because she saw past all my shit straight to the heart of me. She didn’t care about perfection, she wasn’t impressed by my military service, she didn’t care I had scars and marks on my soul.
“What’s wrong?” she muttered quietly.
“We’ll talk after they leave.”
“And during this talk, will you let me down easy and tell me it’s you and not me?”
Fucking hell.
Pain stabbed my heart. That was exactly what I’d planned to tell her.
“Baby—”
“Just so you know.” She paused and leaned closer. “You can save the speech. I know it’s you and not me. I know it’s you who asked me to trust you, but once you had that trust it scared the crap out of you. I might not be experienced but I am not naïve. So you have until Brady and my sister leave to come up with a new excuse why you’re gonna bolt,” Addy finished and straightened but decided she wasn’t done and continued. “Think real hard, Trey. You’ve got one shot.”
One shot?
Addy was more right than she knew and I’d had my one and only shot at her. I’d taken it and now I was going to do everything she said I was going to do. But she’d never know I was doing it because I loved her. Because I didn’t want to cause problems for her.
I’d do it because her dad and most likely all of her