It’s the last day of my stay in rehab. I feel like a better man; I feel good. And I have you to thank for that. Losing you was the nail in the coffin for me to do the right thing. If I was a shitty boyfriend, I apologize. If I made you deal with a lot of shit, I apologize. If I made you cry, I apologize. Even though it is part of my recovery to apologize to all the people I hurt, I fucking mean it.

I used to be so scared to love, but I want to love you, Rainbow. Right before the shit show went down with Ryan, you told me you love me. I didn’t say it back because I didn’t know how so I’m saying it now.

I fucking love you, Gia.

That’s why I beat the shit out of Ryan and made sure he paid for what he did to you. And you were right; I did it because I felt guilty for not protecting you. It was my job to protect you as the man who loves you, and I let you down. You were mine before I realized you were.

Yes, when my past started to fuck with me, I chose Jack Daniel’s over you. But now, I choose us.

I broke my alcohol addiction, but you’re the only addiction I can’t break no matter how hard I try—because I’m addicted to your beautiful soul.

Love, Gunner

I hug the sheet of paper to my chest and cry like a newborn baby. Izzy wraps her arms around my shoulders while my tears wet her black, long-sleeved shirt.

“It’s okay. You deserve better.”

“No, I’m not crying because he broke my heart.”

“Then why are you crying?” she asks, stroking my hair like I’m her girlfriend. Izzy has always touched me like I’m more her lover than her friend. It doesn’t bother me. She’s just a touchy person.

“Because he glued my heart back together.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

Gunner

Two weeks later . . .

I stand by a streetlamp across the street from Gia’s bakery. She talks to a customer as she wraps up a cake in a box, then uses two hands to give it to him. Her smile is bright as a full moon on a pitch black night. She’s alluring, enchanting, tantalizing.

She never looked this happy when she was working for me.

Baking is her purpose in life.