Mr. Nice Guy by Belinda Williams

Chapter Thirty-Three

Later,much later, they lay together in Tom’s bed grinning at the ceiling.

‘I hurt,’ Chelsea told him. ‘In a good way.’

‘Me too.’

There was a beat of silence and then Chelsea spoke again. ‘I gotta say, you were worth the wait.’

Tom grinned harder, but then sobered. It was time. Time to talk and tell Chelsea everything, come what may.

‘You deserve an explanation,’ he said softly.

Chelsea rolled to face him and put her hand on his stomach. ‘You don’t have to tonight if you don’t want to. It’s just nice to be here with you. Let’s not ruin it.’

Tom took her hand and squeezed it. ‘Nothing could ruin what we just shared, but it’s overdue. I need to talk.’

He realised something. He did need to talk. After all this time, he needed to say the words out loud to someone he trusted. Despite what he’d told her, he did trust Chelsea.

‘Gemma had breast cancer.’

Chelsea’s head shot up and her hand flew to her mouth, leaving Tom holding thin air.

‘Oh my God! I had no idea, Tom. None. I’m so sorry. But she’s still alive. That girl you know said so.’

Tom’s heart already felt full after making love to Chelsea, but now it grew fuller still with her genuine concern.

‘She’s alive and well, thankfully. She fought it and got better. It took three years.’

‘Oh, Tom, that’s awful. How awful for her. And for you, especially after everything you’d been through with your mum. Gosh, you must have thought you were cursed or something.’

‘It crossed my mind.’ Tom looked at the ceiling again, because it was easier. ‘I should have broken up with her, but I didn’t.’

Tom didn’t need to see her to register Chelsea’s confusion.

‘When Gemma found out she was sick, things between us hadn’t been going well. I’d been thinking about breaking it off with her for months. She never said it, but I know she had, too.’

‘And then she got sick?’

‘Yeah. She needed me. So I stayed.’

Chelsea exhaled a long breath. ‘That must have been incredibly hard for you.’

‘It wasn’t easy. I wanted to resent Gemma, but I couldn’t. It was possible that she might die, so how could I be angry with her?’

Chelsea softly punched him on the arm. ‘Mr. Nice Guy strikes again.’

‘You’re right. When it became clear that things were looking more positive for her, Gemma began to change. She started talking about settling down and having kids. She’d never talked much about having them before. But going through something like that changes you. She became desperate to try.’

‘Did you?’

‘No,’ Tom said firmly. ‘I’ve always thought I’d like kids and a family, but I wasn’t ready. I’d spent my teenage years supporting Mum, and then, by the time I’d hit my thirties, I’d spent another few years supporting Gemma. I just needed some space to live, if that makes sense.’

‘Perfect sense.’

‘Gemma kept threatening to break things off with me, but she never did. She was desperate for a child and I was the obvious solution. We were caught in this holding pattern where I didn’t want to let her down. It wasn’t a healthy dynamic.’

‘How did things end?’

It was an obvious question, seeing as Tom had been living in Newcastle for three years now.

‘She cheated on me.’

‘Oh, Tom.’ Chelsea dropped her head to his shoulder and held him. ‘You didn’t deserve that after everything.’

‘Yeah, I think I did, actually. I only realised afterwards that I didn’t stay with Gemma because I loved her. I stayed because I wanted to save her, which was something I’d never been able to do for my mum.’

Chelsea nuzzled against him, holding him closer. ‘No one deserves to be cheated on.’

‘I guess not, but it was complicated. Coming up here after we broke up was what I needed at the time. It got me away from everyone’s pitying looks. I was the guy who had nursed my girlfriend back to health, but then she’d left me. It was partly the truth, but not the whole truth, and it was too hard to try to explain.’

‘Geez, no wonder you haven’t wanted to date since then.’

Tom lifted his head to look at her. ‘Why do you say that?’ It was true, but he was interested to hear Chelsea’s opinion.

‘You needed your freedom. To be you. To be Tom. You’ve taken several trips overseas since I’ve lived with you, and you’ve been able to spread your wings without worrying about someone else. You needed that.’

Tom closed his eyes. She understood. He wasn’t sure why he was surprised. Chelsea was the most selfless, genuine person you could meet, but it meant the world to him that she understood.

‘No wonder I scared the shit out of you,’ she said dryly.

Tom looked up again. ‘Why?’

‘Oh, come on! I’m a hot mess. Bouncing from one guy to the next. Complaining about my dead-end job, which is actually going places now thanks to you, and that’s really cool. I know you’re not looking to settle down, but I’m not exactly girlfriend material, am I? I’m not sick, thankfully, but I can appreciate why you had to resist trying to save me.’

Tom rolled onto his side so they were both facing each other. Tenderly, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

‘Chels, you don’t need saving. You’re perfect just as you are, and you’re exactly what I need. You’re full of life. Fun. Generous and giving. Hard-working, although you try to hide it. While I’ve spent too much of my life holding on to life for fear of losing it, you’re living life freely. I love that about you.’

I love you.

Was he brave enough to say it? Coward that he was, he stroked her cheek and looked into her eyes, savouring the moment. No matter what happened tomorrow, he’d never regret being with her like this.

‘I love you,’ she blurted, then clamped a hand over her mouth. Her bright blue eyes widened in shock.

He reached over and gently removed her hand. ‘I love you too, Chelsea. And for the record, I do trust you. I just didn’t trust myself.’

Those blue eyes—so full of life, laughter and everything he’d come to love about her—filled with tears.

‘Don’t cry,’ he whispered. ‘I’m not going anywhere.’

‘Really?’ she whispered back, pouting a bit. ‘Because I seem to recall you kicked me out.’

He winced. ‘I didn’t kick you out. I was a coward, and I was trying not to hurt you. You’re never going to let me live it down, are you?’

Chelsea shook her head. ‘No way. But I understand now why you didn’t want to get hurt again. Like you said, you didn’t trust yourself. I think you were scared to have feelings for me. Am I right?’

He couldn’t resist a joke, because this was Chelsea. ‘You are kind of terrifying.’

She nudged his shoulder. ‘I also think you haven’t been living life as fully as you’ve wanted to. Fear has been holding you back from that, too.’

He wasn’t going to deny it. ‘So I guess that makes me Mr. Scaredy-Cat, then?’

‘Uh-uh. It makes you mine, Tom Pierce. Nice guy. Sexy guy. Scared guy. Whoever you are, you’re my guy.’

It sounded pretty damn good to him. Better than good.

Her lips curved in a mischievous smile.

‘What?’ he asked, confident he would love that naughty smile until the day he died.

‘You’re right. I’m never going to let you live it down. I’m going to make you pay.’ She sat up, then climbed on top of him, straddling him.

Tom’s heart flipped, his fists clenched, and he hardened beneath her. If this was her version of payback, he was prepared to suffer.

She grabbed his wrists and placed them either side of his head.

‘Just so you know, I do want to settle down. With you. One day. But in the meantime, I’ve got plenty of living to do first. With you,’ she repeated, to make sure he got the point. ‘Does that sound acceptable to you?’

‘As long as it involves more punishment, then I’m good. You’ll need to move back in with me, of course.’

‘Of course,’ Chelsea agreed, then rolled her eyes. ‘Nadia is going to be so relieved!’

They both laughed. But not for long, because soon they were both working hard on living in the moment, and it felt better than Tom could have ever imagined.