Miles Apart (The Not So Bad Boys of Rock Book 2) by Rhonda James Read Free Book Online

own.
Hearing her let go, telling me how sorry she was, her body heaving against
mine, it changed something within me. My own tears were a way of letting go of
the hurt, allowing me to fully forgive.
    Later,
when we were lying in bed, lips swollen and tender from making up for lost
time, I held her in my arms and sang her softly to sleep. I didn’t want to
move, afraid of ruining the moment, so I just kept singing until I fell asleep
beside her. It was the first night of restful sleep I had gotten since the
night before my birthday.

 
    The next day was dedicated to spending
time with Brooke. After last night’s breakdown, for both of us, nothing else
mattered except spending quality time reconnecting. I rolled over to find her
awake and watching me.
    “How
long have you been awake?” I asked groggily, reaching for her hand, and pulling
her into my warmth.
    “Not
long, I’m just enjoying being this close to you. It’s been too long." Her
hand cupped my cheek and she offered a small smile. "Can you ever forgive
me?”
    “Honey,
I already have. I just need you to tell me why you made that decision without
talking to me.” I urged, gently rubbing my fingertips up and down her spine.
    She
sighed, resting her forehead on my shoulder. “I’ve never had to ask anyone’s
permission to make decisions. I’m not wired that way, so it wasn’t my first
reaction. But, I can’t say that it didn’t cross my mind soon after, then I
didn’t know how to tell you. I was afraid of how you’d react.” She replied,
nervously. “I’m still scared.”
    “Babe,
I don’t expect you to ask my permission, that’s not what this was about. I need
you to see this from my perspective, just for a moment. I had a ring in my
pocket, and I was going to ask you to marry me. To be my wife. To share my
life. Our life. Knowing that you made a decision that was going to change all
of that just threw me for a loop. I freaked out. I’m sorry that I didn’t let
you explain yourself, and I know that I probably jumped to conclusions. I assumed
the worst. I was afraid that you didn’t love me the way that I love you.”
    Her
body tensed as I spoke, and she hesitated before speaking again. “And what about
now? Do you still feel that way?”
    “No,
I don’t. For the record, I never doubted your love, just the extent of it. I
want you to feel like you can talk to me about anything, regardless of how I’ll
react. I’m not always going to like what you have to say, but I will always try
my best to be supportive. I think we both deserve that.” As I spoke those words
I began to realize that time apart may have been a good thing, no matter how
much it had hurt. Standing on the other side of the issue, where the pain
wasn’t as raw, I was able to maintain a sense of calm. If we’d have had this
conversation four weeks ago, or even three weeks ago, this may have gone
another way. There’s an old saying about time healing all wounds, maybe in this
case it actually worked.
    She
lifted her eyes to meet mine, and I could see the pain that she’d been through.
This separation hadn’t only been hard on me, it had nearly destroyed her as well.
The physical distance wasn’t something we were unfamiliar with, we’d damn near
mastered that. It was the emotional distance, the uncertainty we both felt
every time we would pick up the phone, only to put it down because we were
afraid that no one would answer. I never wanted to feel that way again, not
with her. I leaned in to kiss her but she pulled back, covering her mouth.
    “What?”
I asked, puzzled by her response. She never pulled away from my touch,
especially when it came to kissing.
    “Morning
breath.” She let out a soft giggle, sounding completely adorable. Man, I was in
deep.
    “I
don’t care, I still want to kiss you, so I will.” I grinned mischievously,
capturing her mouth with mine. The glide of her soft tongue against mine
elicited a low moan from her, further igniting my desire. By