Wynn’s thoughts drifted as he tried to recall the last thing he’d done. The image that came to mind was of Scarlett. He had her pressed against a door, kissing the life out of her. Actually, more than kissing. They’d had sex. Hot, wild, passionate sex. Thinking of his mouth on hers was a pleasant memory. Then he pictured himself sitting around a table. Several people were there. After a few moments, he remembered it was an RCDS meeting. Dash had invited him.
Then nothing.
“Are you awake?” Scarlett stretched against him, her fingers lightly touching his chest.
He wouldn’t tell her that it hurt because she would move away. Wynn didn’t think he could stand that. Since his head seemed too heavy to turn and face her, he glanced down and saw her hand against his chest. Dark bruising covered most of it, as if someone had splattered him with purple and black paint. A flash of his body banging against and then bouncing off the steering wheel caused sweat to break out along his hairline.
“I’m awake,” he managed to get out, his heart pounding rapidly at the sensation that lingered.
“You sound better than before.”
“My head felt like it might explode,” he admitted. “Now, it’s died down to something manageable. I can think more clearly.”
“How about your sight?”
“Much better.”
“Good.” Her hand stroked him lightly. “Do you remember attending an art exhibit with Cady? Del introduced you to Rob Delgado, the artist.”
He caught glimpses of a crowd. Paintings hanging on a wall. A handsome, bearded man.
“Del’s gay,” he said. “The guy. The artist. That’s his boyfriend.”
“You remembered. That’s great.”
“I’m getting flashes of images, as if my mind is rapidly clicking through a collection of pictures. They’re not always in order but I can visualize the gallery. And Rob.” Wynn sighed. “I had no idea Del was gay. Cady knew.”
“Women have intuition about these things.”
He reached out and placed his hand over hers. “I have a great mental picture of being with you.”
“You do?”
“I do. I remember parting your bra and seeing your breasts. Touching them. Tasting them. Tasting you. That’s very clear in my mind.”
Wynn heard her breath catch.
“I don’t know how long I’ll be out of commission but I know exactly what I want to do to you, Scarlett. How I want to run my hands over your satin skin. Make a kiss last for an hour. I love you.”
“That’s twice you’ve told me since you awoke,” she said softly.
“I should’ve told you before the accident. What I do remember is how happy I am with you. How I’ve learned things about myself that I never knew existed. You’ve challenged me to think about everything in different ways. You make me want to do more with my life.”
She pressed a kiss against his shoulder. “You’ve done the same for me, Wynn. I never realized that I’d thrown up a huge blockade around myself. I haven’t wanted to get close to a man until you came along. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“You do? Hmm. That sounds like a proposal to me, Scarlett Corrigan. Are you asking me to marry you?”
She blew out a long breath. “I need to tell you something first.”
When she didn’t speak, he urged her on. “Tell me.”
“It’s something you obviously don’t remember. We had our first argument.”
“I can’t imagine fighting with you.”
“We did. The fact that we’re both passionate, stubborn, opinionated people contributed to it. When you slammed that car door . . .” Her voice faded.
As it did, a burst of anger seared through him. In an instant, he remembered what they fought about. How hurt and betrayed he’d felt.
And how he’d sought her out, wanting her forgiveness.
“I did something terrible to you,” she said.
“No. It wasn’t terrible. You were doing your job. Rhett and Cassie needed you. You made sure I had the best legal counsel available to go with me to the Rylon signing.”
She sat up and he caught sight of her finally. Her long, dark hair had that bedhead look that he liked on her. Tears brimmed in her eyes.
“You did the right thing, Scarlett. You should’ve told me about it sooner. When so much time passed and then I learned about Henry’s machinations, I exploded. I overreacted. It was stupid. I knew right away I’d acted irrationally. I tried to find you the next day and beg your forgiveness.”
Her pained expression caused a lump to grow in his throat.
“I’m the one who needs to ask forgiveness,” she said. “Not you.”
“Let me explain something. It’ll help you understand me a little more. Lie back down.”
She did, cuddling against him again. He savored her body against his.
“Wynn?”
“Sorry. This goes back to when I was in college. Young. In love. Pretty naive, now that I think about it. Her name was Stephanie. She was the most beautiful girl on campus. We were about to graduate and I wanted to light the world on fire for her. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t have done to make her happy.
“Until she lied to me.”
Wynn felt Scarlett stiffen against him. He pushed on.
“Stephanie found out she was pregnant. She didn’t tell me. Instead, hid it from me and aborted our baby. Worse, she didn’t seem remorseful at all. I was devastated. Her keeping that secret broke something in me. Her deception shattered everything I thought we’d shared. Because of that, I turned off any feelings I had. I let the characters I played experience joy or envy or happiness or anger. Wynn Gallagher didn’t need or want anyone. I lived up to my family obligations and loved my siblings but I never showed any of that love—or any other emotion.”
He squeezed her hand. “That all changed with you, Scarlett. It was as if I were Sleeping Beauty and you were the handsome prince who awakened me to all the good in the world. I began
