Wild Chance (Wilder Irish #13) - Mari Carr Page 0,63

will fix it.”

“I shouldn’t have behaved that way, shouldn’t have left the way I did. I’m so sorry, Emmy,” Padraig said, reaching out to place his hand on hers where it rested on the bar.

Emmy pulled it away before he could touch her. He lowered his hand, resting it on the counter.

She was avoiding his touch. And his gaze. Regardless, he could tell she planned to do what he couldn’t on Thursday.

Break things off.

Little did she know, things had changed. He’d fight for her until his last dying breath.

Emmy Martin was his, from now until forever, and he’d do whatever it took to prove his love to her.

Emmy folded her hands in front of her, hiding them behind the bar so that Padraig wouldn’t see they were trembling. The night he left, she’d fallen into her bed, crying inconsolably, hoping against hope that he’d come to his senses, that he’d come back to her.

However, by the time morning came, her tears had evaporated. Because as much as it killed her, she understood. All the way to the depths of her soul. She understood why he’d walked away.

Her girlfriends had shown up last night, armed with margaritas, expecting she would need their help to find her footing. Emmy could tell they’d been surprised to discover she wasn’t in a fetal position in the corner. They’d anticipated needing to bolster her spirits, to dry her tears.

Instead, they found her calm, resigned.

So rather than trying to cheer her up, they’d switched gears, insisting Padraig would come to his senses.

Emmy held no such hope. She had spent the last two years of her life clinging to the hope that he could care for her, that he could love her as much as he did Mia.

What she hadn’t considered, hadn’t realized, was just how deep his suffering went. His actions in any relationship from now on would always be influenced by Mia, and that was something Emmy simply couldn’t live with.

So she was cutting her losses. Moving on.

She cleared the lump forming in her throat, determined to say what she’d come to say and leave. If she was lucky, she’d be able to get through this without falling completely apart. “You said you needed time to think. Turns out, I did too.”

He held her gaze, his expression unreadable, so she forged on.

“Here’s the thing, Paddy. I can’t promise I’m never going to get a sniffle, never going to get sick or injured. And I definitely can’t promise to outlive you. Those are reassurances you seem to need that I can never provide.”

Padraig shook his head. “Jesus, Em. I don’t need that.”

She refused to back down. “You thought you were ready, I get that. But you aren’t, and I can’t keep waiting, can’t keep hoping for something you may never be able to give me.”

Padraig raised his hand to stop her. “I am ready, Em.”

She shook her head. “No. You aren’t.” She couldn’t spend another night like last Thursday. Couldn’t wait around for the next bad or scary news that sent him running.

“Please give me another chance, let me make this right.” Padraig’s jaw was tight, and she allowed herself to look at him—really look at him. He had dark shadows under his eyes, stress lines around his mouth, several days’ extra growth on his jaw that indicated he either hadn’t had the energy to shave or he was growing back the beard he’d sported when they’d first met.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to say the most important thing that had sent her here this morning. “I can’t live in Mia’s shadow.”

Padraig froze for a moment, just long enough to convince her she’d hit the nail on the head. “Her shadow?”

The confusion in his voice was her undoing, the last of her energy zapped. She had to get out of here.

“Goodbye,” she whispered, turning quickly.

She’d almost made it to the door when Padraig caught up to her, grasping her upper arm to halt her escape. She whirled around, digging deep for the strength that would give her the ability to end this once and for all.

Her gaze narrowed on his hand on her arm. “Padraig.”

He released her arm but only so that he could step closer, cup her face in his large, calloused palms. “Emmy.”

She tried to shrug out of his grip, but he refused to let her escape.

She stilled completely when he said, “You aren’t in Mia’s shadow. You’ve never been there.”

She started to shake her head, but he tightened his hold.

“Listen