Lover Boy

by Cassie-Ann L. Miller

  “Mara chose her happiness over Brenton’s. I can’t do that to him. I can’t let him down, too.”

  “There’s a difference between what you’re doing and what your ex wife did. For you, opening your heart made you a better person and a better father. Mara’s falling in love made her selfish and inconsiderate.”

  I close my eyes and her words sink in. I want so badly for her to be right. Is it possible that I can have Reese and be devoted to my son?

  Sophia continues. “I know you have this overwhelming sense of duty, this desire to do right by your kid but that’s exactly what you’ll be doing if you give yourself permission to be happy…I may be wrong. Remember, I’m the girl who just got ditched at the alter. But I really think you need to reexamine your situation.”

  I exhale roughly. “How do you still believe in love after what happened to you?”

  “Joshua was never a good guy. I tried to convince myself he was. I tried to pretend he was but the truth is, he never loved me.”

  “You don’t know me. What makes you think I’d treat Reese any better?”

  Throws up hands in exasperation. “Now I’m starting to think that you’re just fishing for compliments.”

  We share a laugh.

  “Allowing yourself to love Reese doesn’t take away from the love you have for your son. Becoming a happier person only frees up more love, love that you can give to him. That Reese can give to him.”

  In that moment it’s like everything snaps into place in my head. I don’t want to be away from Reese. Not for one more second. “I need to see her,” I tell Sophia as I race to the door and slide into my shoes before grabbing Brenton’s sneakers from the closet.

  A victorious smile covers Sophia’s lips. “She’s at the cupcake shop right now, working on some report for Vivian. You need to talk to her. Make things right. I’ll watch Brenton so you don’t have to take him with you.” When I hesitate, she rolls her eyes. “I am capable of watching your son for a few minutes so you can go get your girl. Just go!”

  I sigh harshly. “Fine.”

  As I’m rushing out the door, she calls to me. “You and Reese can prove me right. Prove to me that true love really does exist. With the right person.”

  I smile at her because Reese is the right person for me.

  I just hope that after the way I messed up, I can prove it to her.

  Chapter 46

  Reese

  Smoke.

  The caustic smell seeps into my drowsy consciousness, drowning my taste buds in a bitter flavor. Not the mild smoky taste of Leo’s tongue as it curls around mine after he’s had a cigarette. This is much more pungent, suffocating. It’s choking off my air supply…

  And fire.

  I feel heat seeping into my skin. I lift my head from the desk and blink into the room surrounding me. My eyes burn instantly. A blinding orange glow jumps all around me. I hear the crackling of firewood and the low roar of the flames.

  Except this isn’t a bonfire. It’s my office. At the cupcake shop. It’s on fire!

  The haze of sleep evaporates immediately, snapping me alert. I must have fallen asleep while working on the damn report but I’m wide awake now. I leap from the desk in shock and my chair capsizes behind me. Fuck! Fire! That’s when the piercing drone of the fire alarm fills my senses.

  Holy shit! This is really happening. I dodge around the flaming furniture and stumble to the office door, burying my nose in the crook of my arm to protect myself from the smoke. My lungs burn so bad.

  The far end of hallway connecting the office to the kitchen is blocked by flames. I faintly register the sound of glass shattering. I pivot around and head back into the office, scrambling toward the window. My leg catches on the foot of the overturned chair. I hit the ground.

  The past few months of my life flash before my eyes. Brenton running around with my panties over his face. Leo’s lips on mine on the back porch in the moonlight. Sophia crying at that bar in Las Vegas. Brenton with his little arm wrapped around me, telling me how much he misses me.

  I don’t want to die.

  In my head, I hear Leo say my name.

  Everything goes black.

  Chapter 47

  Leo

  I pull up to the curb outside of the Broken Cupcake, parking my car right behind Reese’s. I’m still not sure of exactly what I’m going to say to her. Frankly, I’m not even sure that I should be here.

  Am I really the man to give her the kind of relationship—the kind of life—that she deserves? She’s so sweet, so beautiful. And I’m complicated, if nothing else. I’m a single dad with a young child and stone heart and wartime scars that torture me day and night. She’s ambitious and young. She has a head full of dreams. What good do I have to offer her? My life is an oozing wound and it would be unfair and selfish to infect her with my misery. I can’t allow myself to hold her back.

  Maybe I should just let her be. Maybe she’s better off without me.

  With a deep inhalation, I decide then and there to let this go. She may be hurting right now, she may be upset that I pulled away from her but in the long run, she’ll realize that I wasn’t right for her. She’ll find someone better.

  I slide the key back into the ignition and throw one last fleeting glance at the arched doorway of the cupcake shop, chest tightening because I know she’s in there and all I really want is to be in there with her.

  But just beyond the glass, something catches my eye. An orange glow blazing just beyond the window. I squint, leaning closer to the door for a better view. A dizzying rush of adrenaline pours into my blood. It’s fire!

  My gaze goes back to Reese’s car parked in front of mine. She’s inside the building. I tear off my seatbelt and leap out of the car, charging toward the building. “Fire! Fire! Call for help!” My cries go unheard. It’s late on a Sunday night and the town square is virtually abandoned. Still, I scream out. “Call for help! Fire!”

  The gears in my head move into motion. Circling around the building, I find myself in a narrow alley. Thinking fast, I scan my surroundings for a tool. My eyes land on a wooden beam sticking up out of the dumpster. I snatch it into my hands and swing it at the window, blocking my face with my shoulder as the glass shatters.

  Every second counts so I don’t waste a breath. Reese’s life is on the line. The temperature spikes a thousand degrees as I climb into the building, finding myself in a narrow hallway. I scream out her name. “REESE! REESE!”

  I don’t get an answer but I push through the flames, moving blindly through the blaze.

  “REESE!”

  I can hardly breathe. My lungs want to collapse, to give up. But I’m not giving up. Not until I have her in my arms.

  I’m in the office now. I see a computer on a small desk. A filing cabinet. A couch.

  “REESE!” Fuck, baby. Where are you?

  Sirens approach in the distance. I can hear them. My eyes sweep the room and land on a body lying on the floor.

  No…Please…Please, Reese…

  I need to get her out of here. My fingers curl around the first thing I lay my hands on. I think it’s a crystal paperweight. In the shape of a cupcake. I hurl it at the window. Ignoring my burning eyes, my shriveling lungs, my protesting limbs, I scoop her into my arms just as the red lights of the fire truck begin to glow against the side of the neighboring building.

  I lift her through the opening and climb out, howling not because of the shards of glass that stab into my thigh. Not because of the flames that have seared my skin. Not because of the smoke that’s left me panting.

  As the first responders round the corner and sweep the lifeless body out of my arms, I collapse to the ground, howling because I was too late. I hear the fiery crash of the ceiling beams caving in behind me.

  I collapse to the ground. Reese is dead.

  Chapter 48

  Leo

  My eyes burn when I blink them open.

  As my vision comes into focus, Charlie’s face is the first th
ing I see. He’s hovering over me, leaning all into my personal space. “Hey man. Can you hear me? Do you hear what I’m saying?”

  There’s a tube pumping oxygen into my lungs and a machine monitoring my heart rate. “Would you back up off me?” I grit out. It comes out all garbled and the look on his face tells me he didn’t understand a word I just said.

  He becomes frantic, his hands fumbling with the call button. “Hang on, buddy. The nurse is coming,” he tells me. “Hang on.”

  My throat is sore. My insides of my nostrils feel like they’re lined with paper cuts. The taste of my dried out tongue makes me want to gag. I look down at my arms. They’re all bandaged up and fuck, it hurts. What the…?

  The memory floods into my brain. The last thing I remember was…Godddammit! No! And now, I’m panicking, fighting to get the word out.

  Ignoring the soreness blanketing my skin, I try to climb out of bed. “Reese…” Her name scrapes across my swollen vocal chords.

  “You lost consciousness the minute you stepped out of the building. And then the whole thing just crumbled behind you like dominos.” Charlie’s voice cracks. He seems shaken by his own words. “You were burned. Badly.”

  “Reese…” I force out her name again.

  Charlie’s breathing hitches and a morose expression fills his eyes.

  Oh god. She’s dead.

  “Where’s Reese?” I demand. The pain in my throat is the least of my concerns.

  Charlie pushes a trembling breath. “She inhaled a lot of smoke. Nobody knows just how long she was passed out on the floor before you found her. Her toxicity levels were high—”

  I grind my teeth and speak through the pain. “Is she dead, Charlie? Was I too late?”

  He squeezes his eyes shut. “She’s alive. Hanging on. But we don’t know what the outcome will be. We don’t know if she’ll have brain damage.”

  A doctor bursts through the door. “Leo. You’re awake. That’s good,” the old man say propping an electronic tablet under his arm. “I’m Dr. Hecker.”

  I try to lean my weight on my arms and sit up straighter but now I’m yowling in pain.

  “Slow down there. Slow down,” the doctor commands, motioning with his arm for me to sit back.

  “Reese! How’s Reese?!”

  The man takes on a diplomatic tone. “We should discuss your situation first before we worry about—”

  “Tell me about Reese. Please! “

  He glances at Charlie over the rim of his glasses and my friend nods, giving the doctor his consent to disclose the details of his sister’s medical condition.

  “Reese has been unconscious since she was found at the scene and although her vital signs are stable, her toxicity levels were very high. We’re working to purge her body of those toxins and to decrease the inflammation. Thankfully, she wasn’t badly burned but I won’t lie, she suffered a lot of internal damage and she’s lucky to be alive. We’re not sure what the long-term outcome will be.”

  “I want to see her.”

  The man sighs because he knows I’m going to fight whatever excuse he’s about to give me. “You’ve suffered third degree burns on your hands. The risk of infection is very real. We can’t have you traveling the halls all willy nilly.”

  “Then slip some gloves on me. Tie my hands in plastic bags. I don’t care. I need to see her!”

  The doctor’s face goes stern. “Mr. Montgomery—”

  I won’t have it. “I need to see her, doctor, because if anything happens to her and I don’t get to tell her how much I fucking love her, I’ll never be able to forgive myself.”

  Chapter 49

  Reese

  Even before I open my eyes, I can feel someone breathing on me. Their presence is heavy, oppressive, smothering, dripping their worry all over me. It can only be one person.

  “Vi-Vivian?” My jaw doesn’t want to move and my voice is so scratchy I barely recognize it. I try to open my eyes.

  “Oh my god,” my sister gasps as she envelops my hands in hers.

  “Reese, you’re awake.” That’s Nova.

  I finally manage to pry my eyelids open and they’re both standing there. Nova looks downright giddy to see me.

  As for Viv, it’s obvious that she’s been crying but her relief shines through her smile. “Oh my god, I was so scared.” She lets go of my hands and pulls out her phone. “Mom and dad just went down to the cafeteria for lunch. I’m gonna text them. And Charlie.”

  I’m hooked up to all kinds of machines and my body feels like I just wrestled a baby alligator. My memory is spotty but pieces of it are bobbing in and out of my consciousness. “There was a fire…” I say hoarsely. I have the worst sore throat ever.

  She nods. “There was a fire at the cupcake shop. And you were caught inside.”

  “Doing the goddamned sales report,” I say bitterly.

  “I’m so sorry, Reese.” Her chest heaves and now the tears are falling again. Her voice is barely a squeak. “The building burnt down to the ground. If it hadn’t been for Leo, you would have died, Theresa.”

  “Leo?” I try to make sense of what Vivian is saying. “What does Leo…?” My voice gives out before I can finish the question.

  My sister hands me the glass of water sitting at my bedside. “He knew that you were in the building and he ran in to save you.” Her eyes go dreamy. “God—you got yourself one hell of a hunk. Why have you been hiding him from me all this time?!”

  Uh, because I thought you’d cut me.

  I shake my head, struggling to understand it all. “Leo ran into a burning building? For me?”

  Nova nods so hard it looks like her head might snap off. “He ran into a building for you, Reesie.”

  Confusion still swirls in my mind. When Leo and I last left off, he was pushing me away. He didn’t want anything to do with me. “Why would he do that?”

  “He loves you…” Vivian clasps her hands over her heart like she might swoon.

  My eyes are instantly heavy with tears. She’s wrong. “No, he doesn’t love me. He doesn’t.”

  “He does,” Nova says assuredly. “He’s covered in burns but over the past two days, he’s been at your bedside every chance he gets, going crazy with worry. The man definitely loves you, Reese.”

  “You don’t get it, Nova. Leo doesn’t want to be with me.”

  She sighs heavily. “Stop resisting it, hun. He’s a ridiculously hot ex-soldier who loves you just the way you are and would walk through fire for you. Isn’t that what you told me you want in a man?”

  “Well, you’re paraphrasing but…”

  “Just a bit,” she says, one corner of her mouth hitched up. “Leo’s the guy you’ve been waiting for, hun. And he wants you as much as you want him.”

  Doctors and nurses swoop in, subjecting me to a battery of tests. While they poke and prod, my insides tremble as I ruminate over Nova’s words. Could it be true? Does Leo really love me?

  The answer comes rolling through my hospital room door when my parents enter the room followed by Charlie who’s pushing Leo’s wheelchair.

  My family dives on me, sweeping me up in a wave of hugs and kisses. But all I want is Leo.

  He’s not shy about telling them that he wants to be alone with me.

  As they’re exiting the room, I call out to Viv because we have some business that can’t wait. “Yes?” She asks sweetly as she watches me.

  “Fuck your sales report,” I rasp out. She looks alarmed by my sudden rebellion. I don’t think she’s ever heard me swear before. “We are going to reopen that cupcake shop. And we are going to hire helpers. Because I have a life and I won’t burn myself to the ground again doing tasks that are absolutely not my strong suit. And you deserve some time for yourself, too.” I feel a beam of pride for finally standing up for myself.

  Her expression softens. “Yeah, you’re right. Fuck my sales report.” We share a smile. “And we’ll hire helpers, okay? Now, rest up.”

  She flashes me a wink and di
sappears into the hall with the rest of my family.

  When I’m finally alone with Leo, he grips the railing of my bed and hobbles out of the wheelchair.

  “Look what you did to yourself…” I struggle to sit up in my bed and sweep my fingers across the bruise on his chin.

  He shakes his head, discounting his injuries. “I’m just glad you’re okay.” He reaches a bandaged hand out to touch me but then flinches at the pain.

  “Thank you for saving me,” I whisper, the words getting lost as my throat tightens and tears spill down my face.

  “I can’t imagine the rest of my life without you, Cupcake Girl.” His eyes are earnest, trying to convey the contents of his heart to me.

  Still, I need to hear him say it because I’ve been wrong about his intentions before. “Why’d you do it? Why’d you run into a burning building for me?”

  “I couldn’t not run into that building for you, Reese. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t have you in my life. These past weeks without you have been hell.” He sets his hand on top of mine. “I’m so sorry that I ever hurt you. I want to be with you. The three of us together—you, me and Brent.”

  He’s saying all the right things now, but I haven’t forgotten what happened in the past, the way he hurt me when he pushed me away. “You said that you don’t need me…”

  His eyes glass over. “I don’t need you to fix me, Reese. And I don’t need you save me. But I do need you. Being without you isn’t an option. I tried it. It didn’t work.” His eyes shine, they bore right into the centre of me as he pleads. “So just be with me. Okay, just be in my life. Because I love you.”

  My heart flies up into my throat.

  Those three little words.

  “Leo…”

  “No, let me say it. I love you, Theresa Hartley. I’ve never felt this way about another woman and I need you in my life. I love you.”

  Caution floats away on the wind. Nothing else matters. I give him my heart. “I love you, too.”

  Chapter 50