揂nd you left her??
The accusation is as clear as it was when Destiny flung it in my face.
揑抦 on my way back there now. I had to get my teenage daughter settled for the night with a housekeeper to watch the place.?I pause. 揑抣l be there when she wakes up. I抦 just not sure I抣l be the person she wants to see when she opens her eyes, and if I抦 not…？I trail off.
揧ou want me as a backup.?She抯 silent for a long while before she says, 揌oly crap. Maybe you抮e actually a decent guy after all and you do deserve her.?
揑抣l see you in a few,?I say, hearing my phone click off.
She already hung up on me.
I wonder if Dakota Burns is right.
Do I deserve her at all?
My past nearly got her slaughtered tonight, and I left her vulnerable because I wasn抰 man enough for a heart-to-heart before she wound up in a fishing chest.
Troy was right about one thing in his psychotic, babbling attack.
I could have lost her.
My pride, my moodiness, my refusal to face the past on anyone else抯 terms nearly got her killed.
I see my life without her for a moment, spinning through one desolate, cold scene after the next.
Fuck.
Without Eliza, life is bleak.
After tonight, I抎 lay down my life for that woman in a heartbeat ten thousand times.
Regardless, it抯 her choice.
If she wants to walk away from me, I have to let her.
She has a right to peace from my toxic shit storm of a life.
Technically, my mangled past shouldn抰 be a problem anymore with Troy behind bars, but what if he left behind scars? What if she decides all too fairly that my bullshit just isn抰 worth it?
The stakes are so high it hurts.
This is what I get for falling in love with a bright, whip-smart angel who deserves so much more than I can ever give her.
And that angel rules my head all damn night after I make it back to the hospital and collapse in a chair.
I dream of her in that fluttering island dress she wore in Kona, the salty, sassy taste of her lips, the fragrant orchids mingling with her own scent of coffee and mischief.
When a heavy hand on my shoulder wakes me up in the morning, I look up and see Lincoln抯 amused face staring down, a baby balanced in his other arm.
揌ey. She抯 awake now,?he tells me. 揘urse said she started asking for Dakota first thing.?
I stiffen.
Dakota. Not me.
I stand, grabbing the light jacket I抳e had draped over myself like a sheet all night and head for the hallway.
揥ait, you抮e leaving??he asks.
揈liza needs a friend and I won抰 get in the way of that,?I say dryly, my throat parched. 揟he second she抯 ready for me, I抣l be there.?
I storm out of the hospital, wondering how badly I抳e boned my entire life. All because I couldn抰 talk to her like a normal human being.
I turn around twice, second and triple guessing, but ultimately head for my car.
Indecision doesn抰 suit me.
Neither does causing this broken cup of a woman even another second of pain.
If and when she抯 ready, I抣l see her.
And whether she ever gives me the chance or not, my entire heart and soul will forever belong to Eliza Angelo.
25
Perfect Blend （Eliza）
Almost a week since the craziest night of my life and the world won抰 stop.
It抯 still spinning.
I抳e been crashing at Dakota抯 place ever since I left the hospital. It was just easier, especially when I started hyperventilating at the thought of spending a night alone in my apartment.
I can抰 be alone with these nightmares.
The ones where that sneering, leather-faced lunatic gets out of jail and comes to finish me off.
Dakota抯 place has a gate and awesome high-tech security, being a billionaire抯 place and all. I just wish it wasn抰 such a pitiful substitute for the man who left that day before I worked up the nerve to ask for him…
Then again, after the way we stomped on each other抯 hearts, I might not want to see me either.
He put his life on the line.
He saved mine.
Isn抰 that enough?
Dakota knocks on the guest room door. I jump as she pushes it open.
揌ow are we feeling? Less like death warmed over today??She smiles brightly.
I moan, propping myself up on a couple pillows.
Seriously. I抎 rather have whiplash than this monster crick in my back from spending God knows how long crushed in that suffocating box.
揗y back still hurts, and I need coffee. Like now.?
揈asy, lady. They were pretty clear about caffeine interacting with your painkillers,?she says.
I glare at her.
揅affeine is my painkiller and it makes me less stabby. You know the risks.?
She laughs. 揑 had a feeling you抎 say that, so I brought you something.?