One More Time - Louisa George Page 0,62
what had been her salvation. She had spirit and hope and fight. She truly believed what she’d done had been for the best.
And, goddamn him, that was when he realised Mitch was right. He did love her.
Had loved her.
It was like a swift low blow to his chest. Something he had been avoiding all his life— giving his heart to someone else. But it had happened. He’d given it to the one person he should never have fallen in love with, but he’d done it anyway. And he’d been right, all along, too—the truth hurt, but love hurt more.
Right now he didn’t know what to feel. He didn’t want the kind of bleak future it would be without her. But he couldn’t see a future that involved someone so careless about life, about a baby—no matter how much she told him she’d given her child up in an act of love.
And he’d had to wring it out of her. ‘What kind of a relationship is built on silences and lies? Would you ever have told me this if you hadn’t had the pregnancy?’
At the word ‘pregnancy’ she flinched. He felt the sudden stab in his heart, too. Truth was, it all hurt much more than he cared to admit.
‘We didn’t have a relationship, Max. To be honest, we don’t know how. We’re both too
damned broken and scared.’ She stopped short in front of him, huge, furious eyes boring into his soul.
Although he was tempted to fling everything he had at her, he would never tell her how much he had grown to like her. To love her. And how much her story mingled with his hurt and made everything sour.
She shook her head, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. It damn near broke his heart. But he couldn’t touch her now, not after this.
‘I don’t know if I’d ever have told you. I wanted to but I didn’t know how. Seems I was right—just look at your reaction.’
‘Did you ever trust me?’
She blinked then turned away. ‘I don’t know that either.’
‘Did you even try?’
‘I don’t—’
‘You don’t know. You don’t know. Yeah, I get it.’ He huffed out an angry breath. ‘Seems to me you don’t know a great deal, Gabby. Except, of course, about hiding the truth.’
‘Yes, and opening up has done me a fat lot of good.’ She pushed her fists into his chest. ‘In an act of love I gave him a better chance at life. But you just don’t want to understand.’
‘Oh, I do, Gabby. I understand entirely.’ He lifted her hands away from his body and dropped them by her sides, didn’t want her touch on his skin. ‘I think your baby was inconvenient. I know all about that because that’s what we were to my parents. That’s why they dumped us with a nanny while they went off on their nice little sailing trip. I know what it’s like to play dip, dip, bloody dip, too. And to lose. To be given to people who turn out not to be the loving family you deserve. I know exactly what it’s like to be unwanted.’
‘Oh, I wanted him, Max. I wanted my baby more than anything. But you don’t always get what you want, right? Like this. Us. I wanted you. For the first time in forever I thought I’d found someone I could fall in love with. I wanted us to make a go of things. But not now. Not when you won’t even try to put yourself in my shoes. You’re just like Nonna and Mum, you think I’m completely selfish too.’ He saw the torrent of fury swell through her, watched her try to stay in control but fail. She jabbed her finger into his chest. ‘You are way out of line, mate. The far bloody side. Don’t dare judge me. Don’t. Ever. Judge. Me.’
He held her gaze, saw the tumult of emotions there, the rage, the sadness simmering through her. The dying hope. Felt it reverberate through him. A black mist coated everything he saw— hopeless and livid.
Shoulders lifting, she shook her head and stalked to the door. ‘Now, I’ve got a lot to work through, and you’re not helping at all. In fact, you’re making things a whole lot worse. So I want you to go.’ She waved her hand as if he was some insignificant interference. ‘Just go. And don’t even think about coming back.’
In truth, he knew it was for the best. It was over. Messy and painful. But