Monica Murphy - Three Broken Promises

“What are you doing out here anyway?” I ask once I break the kiss, brushing the hair away from her forehead. I can’t stop looking at her, touching her. I can’t believe I have her standing in front of me. She’s been gone less than twenty-four hours and it felt like a goddamn lifetime.

I never want her out of my sight again.

“My new roommate kicked me out,” she says, her voice shaking.

Blood roars in my ears at her words. “What the fuck! Why?”

She starts to cry again and I gently push her away so I can look at her pretty, tearstained face. Reaching out, I brush the tears away from her cheeks with my thumb. “Her b-boyfriend tried to r-rape me,” she stutters out on a sob.

“Are you fucking serious?” My blood is boiling as I clench my left hand into a fist. Hell no, she did not just say that. “Take me back there. Right now.”

I start for the car but she grabs me, halting my progress. “No, Colin. Please. I don’t want you to get into any trouble. They’re not worth it.”

“He tried to fucking rape you, Jen. Smashing his face in with my fist and hearing his bones crunch will definitely be worth it.” I’m fucking fuming, I’m so worked up. All I can see is an angry red haze across my eyes as I grab her suitcase and open the door, tossing it into the backseat.

“Trust me. He’s a douchebag and she’s an idiot. If you go there and lay a hand on him, they’ll press charges and you’ll go to jail.” She grabs hold of me and shakes my shoulders, forcing me to focus on her. “I don’t want you to get arrested, Colin. Please. I need you here with me, not locked away in a jail cell.”

Her words seep into my enraged brain and I blow out a harsh breath as reality comes crashing back over me. “You’re right. I know you’re right,” I admit, my voice, my heart, beginning to calm. “But I wish I could. I’d tear him apart for you. You know that, right?”

“I know.” She smiles, the sight of it knocking the breath out of me, and she leans up on her tiptoes, brushing my mouth with hers. “I love you, Colin. Thank you for rescuing me.”

“God, I love you too.” I crush her to me, kissing her again, stealing her lips, her breath, her heart, just like she stole mine. God, she completely owns me; she has for months. Years. And she belongs to me. She’s mine.

We’re in this together.

It might have taken us a damn long time to figure it out and make it work, but thank Christ we did before it was too late.

“I’m tired of wasting time,” she whispers against my lips when we finally break apart. “I want to come back. I want to live with you if you’ll have me.”

As if she has to ask. “I’ll have you as long as you’ll have me. I’m . . . sorry for what I said earlier. How I treated you.”

“Of course I’ll have you.” She smiles, her eyes full of happiness mixed with lingering sadness. “I’m sorry I kept the truth from you. I was afraid.”

“Never be afraid with me. You’re my everything.” I can’t believe how lucky I am, that this woman is a part of my world. “I can’t imagine my life without you.”

“You’re my everything too,” she admits softly, her head bent, her slender fingers plucking at the front of my shirt. Her innocent touch heats my blood, sets my skin on fire. I never want to be apart from her again.

“Will you come with me?” I ask her, needing to hear her say yes. “Be a part of my life, Jenny. I need you. I love you.” I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to stop saying I love her.

She slowly lifts her head, her gaze meeting mine once more. The sadness is gone. Tears still fill her eyes and stream down her cheeks, but she looks happy. “I love you too. So much.”

Pulling away from her, I grab her hand and lead her over to my car, opening the passenger door for her. “Get in, baby. I need to take you home.”

Jen

“Look at you!” Fable whistles low when I stop directly in front of her. “Dressed up, all hot shit and manager-like.”

“Stop it.” My cheeks heat with embarrassment and I give her shoulder a gentle shove before I smooth my hands over my sleek black pencil skirt. “It’s only temporary, remember?”

“Of course.” She rolls her eyes, the gigantic smile on her face giving her away that she’s not as irritated as she’s putting on. “Colin can’t live without you and you can’t live without him, blah, blah, blah. I still say you should stay here and take over this place completely. You could probably run it better than anyone else.”

“Yeah, right.” She might be exaggerating, but her words still fill me with warmth and pride. She’s so close to the truth about Colin and me it’s funny. We just haven’t admitted it to anyone yet.

The moment Colin brought me home—well, after we indulged in each other for hours in his bed—he sat me down and told me he was making me the manager of The District’s new Redding location.

I protested again and again and we ended up arguing for hours, which was silly, but hey, that’s how we work. We finally came to a compromise: I would run the Redding restaurant temporarily while he went in search of a permanent manager.

It’s not that I didn’t want the position or didn’t believe in myself. I preferred working with him. We’re a team, Colin and I. So when he asked me to join him instead and run the original location while he looked into expanding The District chain, I agreed readily.

We’ll make the announcement soon, when he finds a new manager to replace me. In the meantime, I’ll make the ninety-minute trek each way five days a week. We can stand it. It’s temporary. Plus, he helped me buy a new car. A used Honda that I love, that isn’t filled with bad memories and is reliable.

“I’m serious.” Fable grabs my hand and pulls me into a fierce hug. “I’m so proud of you. You’re doing an amazing job here. Colin gushes about you to everyone all the time. He’s such a sap.”

Tears threaten and I blink them away, irritated with myself. I’ve been an emotional mess lately. I blame the constant driving back and forth, overseeing the new restaurant’s opening. The stress and the excitement and the anticipation—it’s all combined to make me a complete wreck.

A happy wreck, though. Life is good. I have friends who care about me. I’ve attempted to contact my parents and though we’ve talked only briefly, I plan on going back home and seeing them someday soon. It’s a step in the right direction. Our relationship isn’t ruined forever, but it’s definitely not perfect. I need to fix it. They need to fix it too, and I hope they realize how their neglect affected me.

Colin promised he’ll go with me back to Shingletown. He says he’s ready to see his mom again too.

And then there’s Colin. He’s so supportive, so encouraging. I don’t look at his treatment of me as coddling or controlling any longer. It’s just his way, a way that I’ve come to accept. He just wants to take care of those he loves. And he loves me. Passionately. Whole-heartedly.

Completely.

The dreams have mostly stopped. Of course, I’m in bed with him every night and I think that helps. But I also believe he’s found peace with Danny’s death and let go of all the guilt that weighed him down. He confessed to me what happened between him and Danny the day my brother joined the military. As if it were some sort of deep, dark secret.

I’d suspected some of it but never had any confirmation. Danny had seemed irritated with Colin before he left. I’d tried to ask why, but he always cut me off or worse, told me it was none of my damn business.

So I left it alone.

Colin was so relieved after making his confession, he hugged me close in bed and proceeded to cry against my chest. Shedding his tears, shedding his guilt. Afterward, he admitted he felt cleansed and that he was so thankful for my easy acceptance.

As if he had no idea his easy acceptance made it that much more possible for me to deal with what I’ve done. The choices I’ve made. He doesn’t hold them against me.

He just . . . holds me. And tells me he loves me.

Constantly.

“Break it up, break it up.” Colin approaches, using his stern boss voice, saying what he always does when he finds Fable and me together. “Don’t you two need to get back to work?”

“I’m here as a guest,” Fable says smugly. “So no bossing me around tonight.”

“And I run this joint,” I say teasingly. “Or haven’t you heard?”

“Who’s the crazy guy who put you in charge?” He slips his arm around my shoulders and kisses me, his soft, warm lips lingering. I lean into the kiss, then step away, slowly shaking my head. “Hey, I need to maintain a certain image here, you know? No kissing on the job.”

“Well, that’s a damn shame,” he drawls, smiling at me. The sight of his smile sends a bolt of longing through me so strong, I nearly sway toward him.

“Stop, you two. You’re making me sick,” Fable says, wrinkling her nose.

“Gimme a break,” Colin says, rolling his eyes with a smile. “Where’s your boy toy? I know you two can’t keep your hands off each other.”

“He’s scoping out a table with Owen.” Fable stands straighter, her expression going serious. “Thanks for giving me the night off and letting us come for the opening tonight, Colin, and for hiring Owen part-time. He’s so excited to start working at the restaurant he can barely stand it.”

Colin hired Owen as a busboy. He’ll start after the football season ends, right when the busy holiday season starts. He’s applied for a work license and everything, taking his first real job very seriously. Fable is so happy she can hardly stand it. She’s trying so hard to keep her brother on track, as is Drew.