“Y- yes,” she stammered, her hand stilling briefly before continuing its wonderful, tortuous circling. “Why would you be upset about that? Axel, we were over a long time ago.”

“Not to me, Blaire. It’s never been over for me,” I admitted quietly, and I heard her soft gasp. She wedged herself between me and the wall and grabbed my face in her hands. The touch was fierce and gentle at the same time, and I felt something breaking inside me. I focused on a spot just above and to the right of her head, blinking hard to control the tears that were threatening.

“What are you talking about, Axel? You wanted out. The… the things you said that night…”

I clenched my jaw so hard I thought I might have cracked my teeth when I finally looked down at her.

Those eyes. Jesus. Those green eyes.

“The things I said that night were bullshit, Blaire. I didn’t mean a single word. Not. One. Word. I was young and scared and—”

Her voice rose slightly, and her eyes blazed into mine, but she thankfully didn’t remove her hands from my face. I wanted them to stay there. Forever.

“You think I wasn’t young and scared? I was a year younger than you, remember? I came to you so that we could get through it together, and you… you just… oh God, Ax.” Her breath hitched in her throat as a sheen turned her gorgeous eyes glassy. “I was so scared, and you left me.” A tear ran down her face, and seeing that tiny droplet almost ripped my heart out.

I couldn’t stop myself. I stroked my hand through her hair. “Blaire Bear, other than the horrible things I said to you that night, walking out that door was the biggest regret of my entire life. When I came back for you—”

“You came back for me?”

I frowned at her. “I did, Blaire. The next day. I even drove to Dallas, but you weren’t at your house there. And I called and texted you so many times, but you never answered.” Her eyes blinked rapidly in confusion.

“Because my phone got destroyed. There was a… vomit incident.”

I frowned and traced my fingers down her cheek. “You were sick, baby?” As absurd as it sounds, that made the whole night seem even worse. I had left her pregnant, alone, and sick. I shifted, placing my hands on the wall on either side of her head, effectively caging her in with my arms. “I’m so fucking sorry, Blaire. For everything.”

I lowered my head and brushed my lips tenderly across hers. Jesus, her lips were as soft as I remembered. Her hands drifted down to grip the lapels of my suit jacket, and I hesitated, my lips hovering over hers, to see if she was going to push me away, but she didn’t.