Arrogant Heir (The Heirs #2) - Michelle Heard Page 0,69
my shirt.
“I’m here.” I keep repeating the words, and sitting flat on my ass, I pull her onto my lap and tighten my arms around her.
Her sobs are broken, and each one shudders through her body.
I shouldn’t have left her alone. God, what have I done?
Mila’s voice is hoarse as she cries, “You didn’t come.”
“I’m here now,” I say, and bringing a hand to her face, I have to force her to look at me. All the light has been dimmed in her eyes, and it has me asking, “What happened?”
The question has Mila trying to pull free from me, and when I don’t loosen my grip on her, she shoves at me, screaming, “Let go of me!”
It’s the first time I’m unable to calm her down, and it makes panic rip through me like a hurricane.
I let her go, not wanting to upset her even more. A helpless feeling settles hard in my gut.
Mila struggles to her feet, and as I rise to my full length, anger begins to radiate off her. “How could you?”
“I’m sorry I left,” I say again.
Mila shakes her head hard. Her body’s tense, and she wraps an arm around her waist. “Why did you go out with her?”
Say what?
Confused as fuck, I tilt my head, and a frown forms on my forehead. “What are you talking about?”
“I know you went out with Jessica,” she snaps. “I was stupid to think this afternoon meant anything.”
My eyes snap to Jade and Fallon and the rest of our friends watching as the night continues to unravel into chaos, and I bark, “Can we have some privacy?”
They quickly leave, and I turn my gaze back to Mila. “I wasn’t out with Jessica. I went to my grandfather’s.”
I see how my words stun her and needing her to believe me, I yank my phone from my pocket and pull up my call list. Holding the device to her so she can see, I say, “He called and asked that I come over. That’s where I’ve been for the past three hours.”
Mila shakes her head, and her eyes dart from the phone to me. “I thought…” she shakes her head again, as if she still can’t believe the evidence.
“Why did you think I was out with Jessica?” I ask.
Mila’s shoulders slump, and she looks defeated as she admits, “Before the attack, you were always out with a girl, and tonight I overheard Rachel and Summer say that Jessica was out on a date. I… I assumed.”
“You still think I’m fucking around?” Hurt blooms in my chest.
Christ, haven’t I proven myself over the past two weeks?
Mila closes her eyes and whispers, “What was I supposed to think? It’s not like we’re in a relationship.” And then she begins to ramble, “And it’s okay. I’m sorry I overreacted, and I know I can’t cling to you forever.”
I move forward, and when I frame her face, and she doesn’t pull back, the tension in my body eases a little. I lift her face to mine. “Mila, you can.”
She tries to shake her head, whispering, “You have your own life to live.”
Not able to hold it in anymore, I lean down until I’m eye level with her. “You are my life.”
I see the disbelief on her face, and stepping as close to her as I can, I say, “I love you, Mila.”
Shock ripples over her face, and her lips part, but then the disbelief settles back in her eyes.
“I love you.” I lean in and press a kiss to her lips. “I’m sorry it took me so long to say it.”
Chapter 27
MILA
Jase loves me?
I keep staring at him while uncertainty and hope wars in my aching chest. It feels like I’m standing on an edge, and if the words aren’t true, I’ll fall.
How can he?
Is it out of pity?
The thought has the ground crumbling beneath my unsteady feet, and I gasp, “Why? Why would you say that to me now?”
“I flirted with you because my heart already knew what my mind couldn’t comprehend. Because that’s how much I fucking love you, Mila. It was inconceivable that one person could mean so much to me. I realized it the Thursday night before the attack. I was going to tell you that Friday.”
Three years of guarding my heart make his words sound like a dream. One, I’ll wake up from any moment.
My doubt has me saying, “What if it’s out of pity?”
“Do you honestly think I can breathe in a world without air? Because that’s what