I felt my throat start to close and forced through it, “Knight,” but that was all I could think to say.
Knight held my eyes and I was so undone, I let him and I did it silently.
Finally, he spoke.
“We’ll visit you, too, but, warning Sylvie, we’re not comin’ down there in the summer. I’ve been down there in the summer. It’s torture. Maybe Thanksgiving. Anya gets off on holidays. She’ll like that.”
“Creed has a big table,” I said quietly.
“You cook?” he asked.
“When forced,” I answered and finally got a lip twitch from Knight.
“Creed cook?” he went on.
“Absolutely.”
“Then it’s a plan.”
I stood, and was going to move to him but I found my feet failing me. All I could do was stand there, staring at one of only two men in my entire life who really, truly loved me.
So I decided it was time to give that back.
“You know, I love you, Knight.”
“You could have been one of my girls.”
Again, that wasn’t the response I was expecting.
“Say again?” I asked.
“You came to Denver, after that shit went down with you, if that had broken you, you could have found me for another reason. You didn’t. You didn’t let that shit break you. You didn’t bow to it. You fought it. You didn’t become one of my girls. You became the woman who protected them. That says a lot about you, Sylvie. I respect that. I respect you. I respect that you’re professional, I can trust you but you still got a personality, a sense of humor. After that shit happened to you, you kept that, you kept you. I respect that. I respect that we had an attraction and, not like a lot of women, when we found we didn’t suit, you didn’t let that shit turn catty or destructive. You let it go, you kept us solid and it means somethin’ to me you shared your shit with me. You trusted me with it. You trusted that me knowin’ it wouldn’t alter our relationship. That was an honor, Sylvie. I know you haven’t given that to anyone but me and Charlene, and, babe, it was an honor you chose me.”
Told you Knight could talk.
And that was nice and all, really nice, but I was a little put out he didn’t say it straight. He always said it straight.
Then he said it straight.
“We been through a lot and you earned a piece of my heart, babe. It’s all yours and always will be.”
I pressed my lips together.
“You cry, I’m tellin’ the boys,” he warned.
I unpressed my lips and glared at him.
He smiled at me.
“Come here,” he ordered.
I went there and when I got close, Knight Sebring’s arms folded around me.
Mine folded right back.
We’d hugged only once in the time we’d known each other and that had been when we were drunk and I told him all about Creed.
It felt better not being drunk and after I got Creed back, even if that meant I was semi-losing Knight.