The Better Man

by Len Webster

  “I knew you would, but I was scared because you’re like a brother to me. Sure, I deemed you my mortal enemy when we started at Coates and Jackson, but the more we worked together, the better friends we became. I was scared you wouldn’t want to work with me and you’d request a new partner … or worse. You’d stop being my friend.”

  He remembered the fear in her eyes the day she came out to him. How scared she was to tell him. He also remembered just how comfortable she was once she told him that she was interested in women.

  “Emerson,” he breathed. “You never had to fear me never accepting you. I would have never wanted another partner. I would never stop being your friend because you’re my best friend.”

  She let out a soft sob. “Do you want to know what the scariest moment was?”

  He wanted to say no because he didn’t want to hear how much he hurt her. But Will knew she needed to express herself. “Yes.”

  Emerson inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly. “It was when Savannah called my hotel room to tell me you were in the collision.”

  “You were scared because you thought I died?” he said in a small voice.

  “It wasn’t that,” she confessed as she pulled her hand from his and settled it on his cheek. “I was scared that Savannah would never hear you tell her you loved her. Because you deserve to love her. After everything, you deserve your love with her. I’m so in love with Lisa, and the thought of never telling her scared me because it made me think of you never experiencing what I did when I told her I loved her. I wanted you to experience telling Savannah you loved her.”

  His heart dropped at Emerson’s confession.

  At her fears.

  Fears that quickly became his.

  He thought of his life without Savannah and her love.

  Without her knowing he loved her, and it was darker than the mangled train carriage he had been rescued from.

  The thought hurt him.

  Broke his heart.

  Left him lonely at the thought of never telling her just how much he loved her.

  “Tell her,” Emerson whispered as she dropped her hand from his face. “Drop everything and just tell her. Everything else, including your career, will just flourish after. I know it, Will. I love you too much to let you lose the best thing that has happened to you.”

  She loves me.

  His heart wanted to burst at his best friend’s declaration. She had always been family to him. The past few months had tested their friendship but only made it stronger.

  “I love you, too, Emerson.” Then he smiled, knowing the truth in his chest. “You don’t have to be scared for me.”

  A soft smile graced her face as she said, “Good. Because worrying about you is Savannah’s job. Not mine.”

  They both laughed, knowing that Will had one last declaration he should have made a long time ago.

  He heard her footsteps before her knock. Will turned his head to find Savannah Peters at the door with a soft, careful smile on her face. She had been quiet after Lori had visited him and cut their reunion short. Will knew she was being patient with him, and he knew he hurt her by not telling her he loved earlier today when she said it. Will had told everyone but Savannah—the woman he was so in love with—that he loved them, and it felt wrong.

  “I just saw Emerson leaving,” she said as she walked over to his bed. She set the tote bag she held on the mattress. “I got you some essentials. Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, and some clean clothes. Your mom told me your size. She said she had bought your sweater for your ugly Christmas sweater movie night.”

  Will laughed. “Thank you. And ugly Christmas sweater movie night with Emerson and Lisa is my favorite movie night they host.”

  “I bet the hummus was impressive.”

  “Lisa does make hummus to impress.”

  Savannah’s laughter was soft before she stepped back, the hesitation returning to her face and causing him to ache. He was the cause of her discomfort. “I should probably go. Visiting hours are over. I’ll be back in the morn—”

  “Savannah,” he said, cutting her off.

  “Yes?”

  “Why do you love me?” he asked, watching her flinch. “Is it because I almost died or …?”

  She shook her head as she closed the distance and pressed her palm to his jaw. Her touch reignited the strong beats in his heart. “I realized I loved you before. Long before. It didn’t take you almost dying for me to realize how much I love you. You almost dying made me realize how late I was to tell you. I love you because you’re kind. You’re loyal. And you treat me better than anyone else. You see the good in me. You support my career. I love you because you believe in me. You gave me better when I didn’t deserve better. You taught me to want and need better. You gave me happiness, Will. I love you because you gave me constellations. You gave me peace. You gave me hope under stars.”

  “Lie with me,” he uttered, completely in love with this woman.

  Emerson was right. He deserved to love this woman. And this woman, this beautiful woman, deserved to be loved right. To have better.

  And Will would give her that and more.

  A smile reached her eyes. Savannah picked up the tote and set it on the chair next to his bed. “There’s not much room. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “I’m hurt enough, sweetheart,” he said as he moved over, dragging his broken legs across the bed. “Lie with me.”

  He watched as she climbed on the bed and laid next to him, her cheek on his chest. Will wrapped an arm around her, feeling whole again.

  They laid together for a while as the Boston sky turned black, and they saw stars from the window. It wasn’t the ideal place to tell her. But he was lucky to be alive and to have the chance to love her.

  With constellations by their side, he whispered, “Savannah?”

  She tilted her head back and stared at him. “Yes, Will?”

  His heartbeat was strong. His inhale of air was the purest it had ever been at this moment with her. No one had ever told Will he’d fall in love with his cousin’s best friend.

  But he was glad no one had.

  Because he got to take that journey on his own. He got to experience the beauty of falling in love with her.

  Will brushed her cheek as he whispered, “I love you.”

  Her eyes widened. “What?”

  “I love you, Savannah Peters,” he repeated. “I have for a while. In that train, you were my very last thought. My last words to Philomena were for her to tell you that I love you.” He smiled, the truth in his voice and in his heart. “I love you, Savannah.”

  A tear slipped down her cheek, and he wiped it away. “You love me.”

  He nodded. “I do. I love you, but the real question is … could you love a man with broken legs? Who might not walk for a long time? Could you love a broken man?”

  “I loved you before you got on that train, Will. I love every bit of you. Your broken bones won’t stop me from loving you. They’re proof of what a selfless, kind man you are. And that’s the man I love. The man I love is you. I love you, William Lawrence. You’re the better man …”

  Then she brushed his bottom lip with her thumb, and whispered, “My better man,” before she kissed him, sealing their confessions.

  He might have broken legs, but he wasn’t a broken man. Not with Savannah.

  Others might believe he was a hero, but Savannah was his. Because that light he held onto while he was in the dark train was her.

  Her light.

  Her brightness.

  She was the star that led him north. She was the love he came back to. And Will would never stop being the man she needed and loved.

  He would continue to be the better man until his final breath.

  Epilogue

  Will

  It was April, and it took eight months of rehabilitation for Will to even stand.

  It was a hard and slow eight months with his recovery.

  But it was also very reward
ing.

  With each milestone he reached, his girlfriend, Savannah Peters, was there for him. A lot had changed since the train collision. Will had a meeting in his hospital bed with G&MC and was offered a job and began to work right away from his hospital bed—much to Savannah’s and his family’s protests. A few weeks later, Will was discharged and went back to New York. He moved back in with his parents so they could help take care of him since he was in a wheelchair. His fractures healed, but he was yet to walk on his own.

  His girlfriend was busy at work. She had her own list of clients and continued to work alongside Monty. Savannah had returned to Vermont two weeks after Will told her he loved her for the very first time. She took a plane almost every weekend to see him. Will paid so she wouldn’t have to take the train and eat up their weekends together. Eventually, she stopped fighting him. He paid for her tickets because he loved her and wanted to see her. It was purely selfish.

  Savannah was not only doing well as a marketer but she had also successfully sued her mother to regain access to all her trusts. It wasn’t something she wanted to do, but she was tired of seeing her father struggle with her student loans. Will had almost offered to pay for them, but he knew she didn’t want a handout. That money her mother kept from her was hers. And when she won, a portion of her trust went to her lawyer, a significant amount paid off her Duke debt, and the rest she had given to her father so he wouldn’t have to work two jobs.

  Will and Savannah talked about moving in together and had just started their apartment hunting. They agreed that he would move to Vermont and fly back and forth to New York once he was able to walk. Will would keep his apartment in Brooklyn for when he was needed in New York. Will had talked to his boss, and Mercer was thrilled with the idea so long as Will stayed with the company. Will’s supervisor and best friend, Emerson Calvert, had signed off on the papers and muttered, “It’s about time,” before she smiled at him. It was good to work with his best friend again. And it felt right that they were no longer partners, and she was his supervisor. It was how it was always meant to be.

  As for Philomena, her sons, and Rick, they became like family to Will, and he always visited them when he was in Boston. After he returned to New York, they video chatted often. Before Will was discharged from the hospital, he gave JJ a new fire truck. Will believed it was fate. That Joe Perconte was up there making sure they found each other so he could protect them that morning.

  Will’s phone vibrated in his hand, and he glanced down to find a new text message.

  Emerson: I feel like today has been a long time coming. You’ve got this, Will. I know you do. Get that yes from Sav!

  “Are you ready?” the planetarium employee whispered as she pushed him up the ramp of the Charles Hayden Planetarium for their private show—that Savannah had no idea about.

  Will smiled and locked his phone before he slipped it into his jacket pocket. “Yeah,” he confirmed. “More than ready.”

  His girlfriend finally had a free weekend, and he asked if they could meet in Boston since he heard there was a new show at the planetarium they should take Miller to see. With just the mention of their goddaughter, she agreed. Will had lied when he said Miller and her parents were late.

  But Will needed the empty planetarium.

  As he took in the red and blue swirls of the galaxy and the bright stars and constellations on the screens, he smiled.

  It was perfect.

  Just as it had been almost a year ago when he took Savannah and Miller to see the Wonders of the Night Sky show.

  It had been one of the best days of his life.

  And he hoped today would join it as he watched Savannah’s blond hair sway with her steps. She tilted her head back, taking in the planetarium.

  Will nodded to the woman who pushed his wheelchair. “Right here is perfect, thank you.”

  The lady stopped and locked the wheelchair in place. Will grasped the arms of the chair and pushed himself up. It was painful, and he had to bite back the groan that threatened to escape. It was taking longer for him to heal and to walk, but his physical therapist and doctors believed he could execute his plan.

  “Will, the planetarium is empty.” He managed to take a step away from the wheelchair as Savannah turned around, gasping at the sight of him standing unassisted for the first time. “Oh, my God!”

  He smiled as he reached into his jacket pocket and slowly, and achingly, got down on one knee. It was painful. He had never been in more pain in his life, but it was worth it. Seeing her tears fall down her beautiful face was all he needed to confirm that he was who she loved. That his therapy had been worth seeing the awe in her blue eyes.

  Will fought through the pain as he lifted the Tiffany diamond ring he bought with the help of his sisters. “Savannah,” he breathed as he reached over and grasped her left hand. “You have supported me through every failure and success. You have been there for me when I’ve had a bad day. When my recovery draws more setbacks than I want, you fly miles and miles to see me. You kiss me, and I taste nothing but happiness and love. Eight months isn’t a long time together, but I’m sure. I’m sure I want the rest of my life with you. You say I’m your better man, but I’m the man I am because of you. You are devoted. You are supportive. You love me, and I feel it every day.

  “I knew I wanted to marry you when we were in your apartment, and I glanced over and saw you peeking through your telescope to watch the stars. I thought to myself, I want that every night for the rest of my life. I am a better man because I love a better woman. So, Savannah Peters, under a red and blue galaxy full of stars and eighty-eight constellations, will you marry me?”

  Savannah released his hand, got down on her knees, and captured his face in her hands. “You must be in so much pain right now.”

  He nodded. “But you’re worth it. So damn worth it, sweetheart. So will you marry me?”

  She laughed as tears ran down her face. “Yes,” she whispered.

  She gave him the galaxy with one word.

  One simple yes.

  She gave him peace and purpose. He knew he would eventually walk because of her.

  For her.

  “Yes, I’ll marry you, Will.”

  She made him the happiest man the moment she let him love her.

  And he was certain he was the happiest man in the world the second she let him slip the diamond ring on her finger and seal their engagement with a kiss that eclipsed the universe.

  Science could refute him, but Savannah Peters was the world’s eighty-ninth constellation.

  The most important star in the galaxy.

  The brightest, purest one of all.

  The one that guided him home.

  The one he looked for in the night sky but found in his arms every night.

  Because it was true.

  William Lawrence was a better man because he loved an even greater woman.

  The woman he couldn’t wait to call his wife.

  She’s the tarnished former cheerleader with a sex tape and a reputation that could put politicians to shame.

  He’s LSU’s newest transfer with a heart of gold and a god to many more.

  What happens when Lori Lawrence returns to college after the worst summer of her life?

  Keep up with the Lawrences and meet …

  THE RUNNING BACK

  COMING THIS FALL.

  Check your college football schedule for official kickoff time and date.

  Add to your TBR:

  Goodreads

  Read on for an excerpt of Lori Lawrence’s upcoming story.

  Prologue

  Lori

  Summer before junior year of college

  @Tigerlover_1256: OMG, did you hear that Lori has a sex tape?

  @Jess_Wam33: @Tigeterlover_1256, the cheerleader?

  @Tigerlover_1256: @Jess_Wam33, YES! It’s all over FB and Instagram.

  @Treyzgirl.LSU: OH MY GOD! What a slut?! Anyone got a link?

  @BellaRodney22: @Treyzgirl.LSU,
girl, right? I wanna see if she’s really that flexible ;)

  @Matt_T: @Jaaaaayden2., Dude! Did you see this? That hot cheerleader has a sex tape. We gotta find it! Wonder who she did it with?

  @Jaaaaayden2.: @Matt_T, does it matter? It’s LORI! I need to see how dirty she can get.

  Lori Lawrence wanted the ground to swallow her up. Tiger Tail was a Facebook gossip group run and moderated by some seniors and housed many rumors of the student body. If you were dating anyone at LSU, it was usually posted on Tiger Tail by a random student. Lori had never really paid much attention to the group but her reputation was everything to her as an LSU cheerleader. She knew there was no truth to her sex tape rumors. Lori wasn’t stupid enough to have one—not that it was anyone’s business if she did or not. The only person she had sex with at LSU was Casey Wade, the starting quarterback.

  The football player and the cheerleader.

  It was such a cliché.

  They had been dating for months during her sophomore year. They had one night together in his room at his frat house. They both decided to enjoy summer apart before they became official once they returned to Baton Rouge. The second the first sex tape rumor was posted, she had called Casey, who assured her that they were just rumors. But more and more posts were made, and then she got the call that she had been suspended from the cheer team. Lori had defended herself to her coach, Miss Kylie, who believed her and told her to stay low. It wasn’t hard to when all of her teammates refused to return her calls which only hurt her further. Then Casey ghosted her, and Lori had never felt more alone. His replies to her text messages were sparse and her calls went unanswered. It had been days since the rumors ignited and made her the most searched term on the group.