Free TamingTai by Chloe Cole Page A

took residence in his chest as Gigi
turned him to face her. “You have a lot to talk about, and maybe too much time
has passed. Maybe it can’t be fixed. But I promise you one thing. That woman
loves you. I would bet my business on it.”
    He didn’t speak. He couldn’t. His brain was on overload
trying to reconcile what she was saying with everything he’d “known” for the
past decade.
    She released him with a sigh and stepped back. “That’s it.
You can run away now. I just wanted to make sure you had all the information
before you made a decision you might regret. Remember what you told me about
regret, Tai? It’s a terrible, all-encompassing thing. It fucks with you
constantly, makes you feel like if you’d only done that one thing differently,
everything just might be perfect right now. Even when your shit is going good,
it keeps it from ever being great because you wonder if it could have been
better if only…”
    Damn if that wasn’t exactly what he’d said.
    “Man, what are you waiting for?” Beau asked, his typical,
teasing grin notably absent. “You gotta go make this right.”
    Fucking A, he did.

Chapter Seven
     
    “You want me to put that in a to-go container?” the
bartender asked with a puzzled glance at the still-full bowl of chili in front
of her.
    “No thanks. I’m getting on a plane. It was very good, I just
wasn’t as hungry as I thought.” Christa forced a smile and laid a twenty on the
bar.
    She turned to stare out the window. It was raining again but
she hardly minded. A gorgeous, sunny day wouldn’t have seemed at all fitting.
She flicked a glance at her watch. Her plane would be leaving in two hours.
Time to call a cab and get ready to leave Cincinnati—and Tai—behind.
    Tai. She pressed a hand to her lips and tried to remember
exactly what his mouth had felt like.
    Gigi’s words from earlier that morning still rang in her
head. How could she not have known? Surely it had been in the newspapers, or
maybe gossip in school? She’d been so blind. The sorrow threatened to spill
over again, but she slammed the brakes on. Plenty of time for that when she got
home. Her leave of absence was open-ended so she could snuggle her Boston
Terrier Milo tight and not leave her bed for a week if she wanted. Hell, maybe
she’d never go back.
    The sound of music interrupted her thoughts. Little early
for the jukebox to be cranking.
     
    When your baby
    Leaves you all alone
     
    Her stomach clenched tight and her heart broke just a little
more. Of all the songs they could’ve picked.
     
    And nobody
    Calls you on the phone
     
    Tears rushed to her eyes and she swiped at them with
her sleeve. Time to get the hell out of there before she came unhinged. She
stood, nearly toppling her chair, and turned. Keeping her head down, she made
her way to the exit. A male voice stopped her in her tracks.
    “Well, it just looks silly doing the dance by myself.”
    The breath whooshed from her lungs as she looked up to see
Tai swaying on the empty dance floor. Despite the teasing words, his face was
grave, his eyes full of sorrow.
    “Come here,” he murmured.
    She searched his face for a sign that he was toying with
her. That once she got there, in the warmth of his arms, he might snatch them
away. Because how could he ever possibly get past what she’d done, and worse,
what she hadn’t?
    She took a tentative step forward. “Tai, I’m so sorry.” The
meltdown she’d hoped to stave off came on like an avalanche and sobs racked her
body. And then he was there, scooping her into his arms, holding her close,
rocking her to the music while he whispered into her ear.
    “It’s okay, doll. I’m okay.”
    “B-b-but I never found you. I should have tried harder. How
can you forgive me?”
    He pulled back, his dark eyes shiny with unshed tears “The
same way you’ll forgive me . I could’ve come back for you when I got out,
at least to see what happened instead of assuming the worst. And last night