The Right One - Felice Stevens Page 0,78

the sexy ex-boyfriend and behave like an adult.

“Confidence has never been your strong suit, idiot.” Morgan peeled off his soaking-wet clothes and dropped them into the laundry basket. He peeked out the window to see a car slow down in front of the building. The rain had stopped, and Morgan watched Leo walk Diego to the curb, give him a hug, then leave. Morgan hurried into the shower, washed up quickly, and put on fresh clothes. Without even looking at his hair, he opened the door, ready to run and see Leo, and found himself staring into a pair of amused blue eyes.

“Going somewhere?” Leo sauntered in, and Morgan shut the door behind him.

“Yeah. To see you.”

“Looks like we’re on the same wavelength. Care to tell me what’s wrong?”

“Wrong? Why do you think that?” He tossed out a blinding smile and walked away from those piercing eyes that probed right through him. Despite their intimacy and the fact that he loved Leo madly, Morgan still had doubts, especially when confronted with a man who looked like Diego. Knowing they’d been lovers cast doubts on whether he could be the man to keep Leo happy.

“Because you won’t look me in the eye.” Leo took his arm and walked with him to the couch, pulling Morgan to his side. “And I’m hoping you’re not thinking anything stupid, like Diego and me getting together again. He came to tell me he’s met someone and they’re serious.”

“He did?” A happy warmth settled through him. “They are?”

“Yeah. Like moving-in-together serious. And I told him about you.”

“Uh-oh. What did you say?”

“That you were a threat to my sanity when we first met.”

“Great. I can only imagine what he thinks of me.”

Leo nudged his cheek, then kissed it. “Now you’re a threat to my heart.”

Joy leaped into his chest. “That’s nice to hear.”

“Don’t sound so surprised. Diego didn’t even have to ask—he said he knew I’d met someone who gave me what he couldn’t. Why do you still doubt yourself?”

“I don’t know. I guess ’cause growing up I always knew things would be different because I was gay. Harder. That’s what my parents told me. So when I met Jeffrey and he treated me so badly—”

“Abused you. Say it. You’re a survivor of abuse, and you’re fucking strong.” Leo held him.

Thinking it was one thing. Saying it? Harder still. But with Leo there, fixing him with that hawklike, penetrating gaze, it all clicked into place. He was strong, and he didn’t need anyone, not even Leo, to make him happy. He was in charge of himself, and he would never let anyone make decisions for him. Life was a whole different ball game when you recognized who you were.

“Abused me.” His voice rang out sure and strong. “I let Jeffrey make all the rules and decide everything. Looking back, I wasn’t ever in love with him.”

Leo’s fingers teased up and down his arm. “No? But you married him.”

“I wanted to be wanted. And he loved telling me what to do. I thought he was so sophisticated, and pleasing him became my top priority. I was nothing more than his puppy, looking for praise, doing whatever I could to make him happy.”

“Leaving yourself empty.”

“Yeah. But if he was happy, it meant I could relax and stop being afraid he’d hurt me.”

“You should never depend on someone else for your happiness.”

Morgan pulled away from Leo. “I don’t see it that way. Being with you makes me happy. And I don’t have to be anybody but who I really am. Even though I can be happy without you, I’m happier when we’re together.”

The silence between them grew as heavy as the earlier humidity, and Leo dropped his gaze.

“When I was with Diego earlier, it didn’t feel right hugging him hello. It was awkward. I know what you feel like, and it’s you who belongs here.” He patted his chest, and Morgan sank into his place like a long-searched-for puzzle piece that completed the picture. Whole. Unbroken. Finished for everyone to admire, but only they knew the intricacy and work it took putting it all together. “You belong with me.”

“I love you, Leo. Now I know. It wasn’t real before. Not like this. Like us.”

Intent and solemn, Leo gazed at him so long, Morgan grew nervous. But then Leo said, “I thought there was something wrong with me because I couldn’t love, but I chalked it up to how I was treated by my mother and Robert. Love wasn’t meant for