Fine. If he wanted to hear what broke me, I'd tell him. I just hoped he didn't decide I was too much work.

Chapter 32.

Collin "My mom was from the Philippines. She moved over here when I was two and married my stepfather, a Caucasian man, who later adopted me." Addie's lips pursed as she shredded her paper napkin. Not once did she meet my eyes.

"You don't know who your birth father is, then?"

She glared at the candle burning on the table. "Nope. Don't really care, either. You can't love or miss someone you never knew."

I stared down at the same candle, wondering if this would be Chloe talking about her mother in twenty or so years...maybe even sooner. Right then and there, I decided I'd do everything I could to make her not feel that way. "What happened between you and your parents exactly?"

Addie sighed. "We were close, my mom and I, but not, like, best friends close. My father was more of a...figure who brought home money, drank beer, and occasionally told me thank you for giving him another beer when he asked." She scoffed. "For as long as I can remember, Mom let him walk all over her and tell her what to do. I mean, he wasn't an abusive man. If anything, he was more affectionate than my mother was, if you can believe it. But he was fifty when they got married and my mom was only twenty-nine, so his kids were having grandkids and I think he was just...done with having kids. I was just an addition to his wife." She bit her lip and glanced up at me, her eyes warm but her voice cold. "My father had these standards though. He said we had to follow certain rules to fit in with other women in American culture."

"Bullshit," I growled. As a father myself, I wanted to wring the motherfucker's neck.

"He had the fiftie's mind-set that women needed to dress properly, clean the house constantly, and be at his beck and call whenever he needed. But he also expected my mom to help with every aspect of the family business at the same time."

"Sounds shitty." My jaw flexed. It was hard to stay cool and relaxed when all I wanted to do was drive the two hours back home to first hug my baby girl and sister, and then find Addie's asshole father and make him pay.

"It was all I knew, so it doesn't bother me a whole lot. But it still pissed me off that he tried to control everything I ever did." She met my stare, finally, but her face was blank. Emotionless even. "He told me I'd never be smart enough to go to college. That I just needed to marry wealthy and pop out a couple of grandkids, maybe work at their store when need be. Even had a guy lined up for me to marry fresh out of high school. His forty-year-old insurance agent, if you can believe that." She stared down at her lap. "The moment the guy showed up at my house during my graduation party with an extravagant and creepy number of roses, I knew I had to break ties with my parents."

Scowling, I leaned across the table and grasped her hands. "But you went to college. Got yourself a degree too. Not trying to sound like a dick, but how'd you afford it?"

She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, leaning back in her seat. "Mom may have abided by Dad's rules, but that didn't mean she wanted me to be unhappy. She had money stored away that my father didn't know about." She rested her hand on her chin. "Under my mattress, buried away in old pots and pans she had stored in the garage. All her Pinoy memorabilia that my father insisted she hide away."

"Jesus," I groaned as the reality of this entire jacked-up situation sank in.

"Once I applied for school, was approved for student aid and grants, and used the money Mom gave me, I packed all my stuff and moved to Macomb. Got a part-time job on campus, another part-time job working at the on-campus preschool, and spent the rest of the time studying and getting my degree."

I frowned. "And your parents? What happened?"

She pressed her lips together for a minute before she finally said, "Dad told me not to bother coming home. That after all he'd done for me, I was pretty much wasted space to him."

"No." I leaned forward, hands going tight around the edge of the table. "You're an amazing woman who does amazing things. That man doesn't even deserve the title of father."

Tears filled her eyes, but Addie held her chin up, not letting them fall. "I wish, more than anything, that my mom would've walked away. But she likes the security of a steady income...and I think she feels like she owes my father a lifetime for bringing us to this country. I miss her like crazy. But I know, deep down, she's at least proud of me, even though she never once said it."

I scrubbed a hand up and down my face, fighting back the anger in my throat. "Your father was a damn fool."

"It is what it is, you know?" Her mouth twisted to the side before she finished. "I dug my grave, and now I've gotta sleep in it."

"How long has it been since you've talked to them?" I pushed the candle aside, along with the pizza, and pulled her hands close.

"The last person I spoke to was my mother, and that was a year ago when she dropped by my apartment with some Filipino cuisine and a plea to call my father and try to make amends."

"And?"

She squeezed my hands. "I told her he wasn't worth it. That I'd love to see her, even if it was in secret, but she refused." Her jaw clenched, and anger replaced the wetness in her eyes. "Claimed she wouldn't go against her husband's wishes, so I told her to leave and never come back. And she listened."

In a flash, I moved around the table to sit in the chair next to Addie. The second I held her face in my hands, she shut her eyes, relaxing into me. "If your mom and dad were any sort of parents, then they wouldn't have cared what you did, as long as you were happy."

A few tears slid down her cheeks and over my hand, but she managed to smile. "Thank you for saying so"-she reached up and held my wrists-"but my parents were never typical, so I expected them to do what they did. That night when I found their store gone was a weak moment for me. I don't have many moments like that anymore. I'm better than I used to be. Stronger."

My heart thudded in my chest. "I've had those weak moments. Needed them so I could get over a lot of bad shit I've seen and been through in my life." I leaned forward and pressed my forehead to hers. "Don't be afraid of them. Not when you've got me to-"

"Collin." She pulled my face up, lips quivering, eyes still red and wet. "Can we go now?"

My shoulders fell. Apparently there were limits when it came to Addie, and I needed to abide by them. But I also needed her to know I had my fair share of skeletons too. "This isn't the end of this conversation. You can't just bat your pretty eyes and expect me to forget it. I'm not your parents, and I'm not planning on leaving you alone, even if you try to push me away. You got me?"

"I got you," she whispered, pressing her lips against mine.

Even though I wanted to believe her, I knew I couldn't. Not yet. But I was damn sure not going to let her push me away. I fought hard for what I wanted. And now that I knew it was Addie, I'd never let her go.

Addison "The lake froze over last winter. So much that the remaining birds couldn't find any good food sources. A lot of bird deaths and all."

Collin's gaze was pointed toward the dark water of Lake Michigan as we walked along the lakefront, yet his thoughts were a million miles away. Part of me feared I'd scared him away with the story of my imperfect family, but I knew him better than that, heard his words loud and clear inside the restaurant. Collin didn't care one bit about my past. Instead, he wanted my future. And I'd known the second he held my face between his hands back in the restaurant that I wanted to be in that future with him.

Our hands were interlocked, but because it was so cold, he tucked our fingers into his pocket. "I lived here for a while. Did I tell you that? With Amy, before I enlisted, right after we graduated from college. It was only for a couple of months."

Caught in the spell of his words and voice, I looked up at his profile. "You don't have to talk about her any more than you want to."

His brows furrowed as he stared down at the dark sidewalk. Still, he didn't speak as we walked.

"I mean, I get it. You loved her, probably always will."

In the middle of the walkway, he spun me around by my arm to face him. His fingers wrapped around my upper arms, and he pulled me against his chest. In his arms, I was safe. Protected. Terrified too because being there felt so right.

Unable to look away, I asked, "You okay?"

He loosened his hold on one of my arms and lifted his hand to trail his knuckles down my cheek. I shivered, unable to fight the goose bumps forming beneath my clothes.

"Had no idea she wanted anything beyond sex and friendship with me. We were roommates. Best friends. That's all it was to me. We dated other people and hung out to drink beer on Thursday nights after work." He tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans, but took a step closer to me, until our chests pressed together. "Then it all changed the day before I left for boot camp." He lowered his chin against his chest. "And because I couldn't stand leaving anything behind me unfinished in case I didn't come home, I told her I felt the same way, thinking at the time maybe I did, or that when I was done with my tours, that having her to come home to was going to be what I wanted." He shrugged.

I had no idea what to say. So...I didn't speak, only gave him my ears. He needed to talk. I needed to listen.

"After I got stationed, I only came back to the States once. My uncle's funeral. And that night was the only time the two of us had unprotected sex."

"She waited for you." I bit my lip.

He nodded. "Then the next morning, I told her I didn't want her to wait for me anymore because I'd been thinking about re-upping. I told her she deserved better and to find someone committed to her. Then she smacked me, told me she hated me, and left."

"That was the night she got pregnant, wasn't it?" I whispered.

"Yes." Unwavering, he met my gaze.

"Did you love her, Collin?"

"I did."

I expected those words...but why did it hurt so much to hear them out loud?

"What happened then? How did you find out about the pregnancy? About Chloe?"

"She sold her Chicago condo, saying she couldn't afford it, then moved to Carinthia." He cringed. "Mom saw her at the grocery store one day-that's how I found out she was living in town. She asked Amy to come over for dinner, being polite. Then Amy broke down at their dinner table and told my parents and Lia about being pregnant."

"They knew before you did?" I reached up to toy with the collar of his shirt, needing to keep touching him to get through the story.

"Yep. Eventually Amy sent me an email telling me the truth, so it didn't really matter." His voice shook. So did his hands as he lowered them to my waist.

"And she wanted to be closer to your parents because of Chloe, didn't she?" I asked, the pieces finally coming together.

He nodded once, confirming my suspicions.

Amy was so in love with Collin that she would've done anything to keep him. Moved to a new town, made nice with his family to gain support...but he broke her heart, and Collin held some mad-crazy guilt over doing and saying the things he did to her. Still, what about her parents? Her friends?

"Where are her parents?" I asked.

"New York. They come to visit on occasion, but it's really sporadic. They've only seen Chloe a handful of times."

He pulled me against his chest, squeezing me to him. With his chin on my head, he continued to speak even though every nerve ending in my body was rattled.

"How did Amy..." I held my breath, not wanting to ask but really wanting to know at the same time.

"How did Amy die?"

I nodded, hating my incessant need to know everything and anything.

"After Chloe was born, she moved in with my mom and dad for support. One night she told them she was running out to grab diapers, but she never came home. Died in a head-on collision."

"God..." I wrapped my arms even tighter around his waist and squeezed my eyes shut.

"Two weeks later, I finally came home."

"I'm so sorry," I whispered in his ear.

He kissed the top of my head. "I blamed myself for a long time. Like, maybe if I hadn't reenlisted, I could've been home and there for her. Maybe I could've looked into family housing and gotten transferred to be closer."

I leaned forward. "Life's what-ifs are always the things you can't control. Don't continually beat yourself up over them."

"She might still be alive though. And Chloe could've been with her mother."

More than anything, I would want that for Chloe too. But at the same time, something pinched inside me at the thought of never having met Collin or Chloe. I was selfish for even thinking those thoughts, but I was only human.

"I'm not going to say I'm sorry for your loss," I whispered. "I know it won't help if I do." Heart breaking with every word I spoke, I continued to spill my guts because there really was no point in holding back anymore. "But I am going to say you are one lucky man because Amy left you with a memory you won't ever be able to let go of. And it comes in the form of a beautiful little girl who loves you more than the Harry the Bunny and Cheerios." I pulled back to look up at him, cupping his warm cheeks. "And in eleven-month-old terms, that's pretty amazing."

Even in the dark, I saw his eyes go wide, but I kept going, pretending not to care what he thought and only knowing I had to get my words out before I lost them.

"Right here"-I pressed one hand over my heart-"I know who you are. An amazing father, an amazing brother, and an amazing friend." I blinked away the warmth in my eyes. "And I know I haven't been through what you have, but-"

Lips cut me off. Soft, commanding, and everything I didn't expect. Hands went around my waist, only to hold me up on my tiptoes. I had no idea what I'd done to deserve this kiss, but I wasn't going to complain. Nor was I going to be the one to stop it. If Collin wanted to kiss me, then by God, I was going to kiss him back.

Chapter 33.

Collin Could've sworn I was dreaming, that the hand grazing my hip and trailing down beneath the sheets was my own. But it was too soft, too gentle.

Eyes blurred from sleep, I squinted at the clock. Three fifteen in the morning and I wasn't alone in my bed. I grinned at the thought, pretending to be asleep as the sexy-as-hell woman of my dreams wrapped her hand around my cock from behind.

"Collin," she whispered, stroking me slowly.

Took all my willpower to stay still, especially since I was more than ready to turn her over and fuck her for the third time since we'd gotten back to our hotel room. But I wanted Addie to set the pace for once, to be in control and take me the way she wanted to take me.

And damn, she didn't disappoint.

The covers slid off my body, rubbing against my bare legs as she rolled me onto my back. Her breaths were already heavy, a sure sign she was as worked up as I was. Her tiny fingers trailed over my stomach and I shuddered, unable to stop myself from opening my eyes and meeting her gaze.

Before I could comment on the thoughts going through her mind, she straddled my thighs, pressed her perfect tits against them, and took the head of my cock into her mouth.

"Damn, baby. You're gonna kill me." But death was gonna feel so damn good.

Around my dick she moaned, lowering her mouth. Slow. So fucking slow. Taking her time, loving on my cock like it was all she needed to survive.

I gripped the sheets, watching her move. The torture was almost too much. "Addison," I growled, leaning up on my elbows, chest tightening the longer I watched.

She met my gaze again, eyebrows bunched together in concentration.

"Addie girl, feels so fuckin' good."

She moved faster.

Fingers grazed the underside of my ass, and I hissed as one of them slipped between my cheeks. She squeezed and played and moaned, the vibration coursing through my dick like a sexual earthquake. Bright lights flashed behind my eyes when I shut them. In and out, I tried to breath, failing the harder she sucked. More than anything I wanted to come inside her mouth, to flip her around and on top of me so I could have her come against mine too. But damn, she was pretty with her hair all around her face and on my thighs with her lips suctioned around me, so asking her to stop wasn't something my lips and tongue could comprehend doing.