Wilde by Abby Brooks
Chapter Eleven
Amy
After hours of conversation with Dad, I shoot Leo a text, apologizing for not standing up for him. I go to bed feeling much better about my future, but pretty shitty about my present because I never get a response.
Which I understand. I’d be pissed if I was in his place. In the span of just a few hours, my ex called him out in a restaurant, my dad kicked him out of our house, and I never said one word to stick up for him throughout any of it. He’d said I was dropping grenades in my life, blowing shit up left and right. I’d bristled at the time, but the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. The grenades felt necessary, but that doesn’t change the fact that they were, indeed, grenades.
And I kind of tossed one his way too. It takes two people to make a baby, and I swear I took my birth control pills religiously, but…here we are.
The next morning, I still haven’t heard from Leo so I head to Inked, hoping to catch him in the parking lot before the studio opens. Imagine my surprise when I find his bright red Mustang already there and the lights inside the place blazing. With a deep breath to fortify myself, I pull open the door and step through.
Leo’s behind the counter. He glances up and his face hardens when he sees me.
“I’m a quick learner,” I say with a cute smile. “Pull to open.”
“What are you doing here?” He crosses his arms over his chest. “I’ve got shit to do to make up for bailing on that client yesterday.”
“I want to apologize for the way my dad treated you—”
“It’s not the way your dad treated me that matters.” Anger flashes in Leo’s eyes. “It’s the way you treated me.”
“You didn’t let me finish, Wilde.” I step forward, closing the distance between us. “I’m really sorry I let him talk to you like that. I should have stood up for you while you were still there.”
“Damn straight you should have stood up for me…Wait.” He cocks his head, his eyes questioning. “While I was still there?”
“As soon as you drove off, I called Dad out for treating you that way. I should have done it while everything was happening, but I’m terrible with confrontation. Things started to escalate and I froze. I never make good decisions when I’m in fight or flight mode, and any kind of argument is the fastest way to get me there. That’s not an excuse, but it is something I’m working on. I’m sorry.”
Leo’s posture softens. “I probably shouldn’t have gotten in your dad’s face.”
“I wasn’t gonna say it, but…”
Almost as if he doesn’t know it’s happening, a smile curls the corners of his mouth. “You should stop while you’re ahead, Skippy.”
I frown. “You’re really not gonna make that nickname a thing, are you?”
“Already done.” Leo looks pleased with himself. “It’s officially a thing.”
“Does that mean you forgive me?” I grin, encouraged by the way things are going. “And that you’re in? Like, in, in. Like, you’re gonna be around for this baby?”
“It means I’m in. Maybe not as far as you’d like. But I’m in.”
I’m so relieved, I move around the counter, raise up on my toes, and throw my arms around him. He freezes for a heartbeat, but then one hand slowly slides up my back. The other joins in. I melt into his embrace, suddenly incredibly aware of my heart pounding in my chest. Of his face, so close to mine. Touching him is like standing in front of a piece of art, transfixed by the color. Lost in the stroke of the brush.
I pull back to meet his eyes because please, oh please, let him be feeling this too. Please, oh please, let him pull me in for a kiss so full of promise and longing that I forget all about later and only worry about now. Here. With him.
The door swings open and a portly man with a great smile steps through. “Hey, Wilde…” He stops in his tracks when he sees me. “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t…” He gestures to the door. “I can leave?”
Leo steps out of my arms and leans on the counter. “Ronnie, Skippy. Skippy, Ronnie. No need for you to leave, man. She was just heading out, weren’t you Skips?”
“Right. Yeah.” I clear my throat. “I have a thing. To do. Out there.” I reach for the door and give it a pull, only to stop short when it rattles in place. “Pull to open when you’re outside. Push in here. I’ll get it eventually,” I say as I lift a hand and scurry out to suck in a breath of fresh air.
What the hell was that?
Like, from start to finish, what was that?
I’m still shaking my head as I climb into my car. “I can tell you exactly what that was,” I mutter as I start the engine. “Trouble.”