The Storm That Broke Us [POV: Abigail]
I pushed through the doors of Le Petit Jardin
So why did it feel like I was being ripped apart?
The pain was worse now than it had been when I first walked away from him. It was deeper, sharper, cutting through the carefully constructed walls I had spent the last six months building. My hands trembled as I clutched my purse, forcing my feet to move toward my car. One step at a time. Just get inside. Drive away. Forget this ever happened.
A low rumble of thunder echoed in the distance.
Then, as if the universe had been waiting for me to break, the sky cracked open.
Cold raindrops fell fast, heavy, drenching me instantly. The silk of my dress clung to my body, my hair sticking to my face, but I kept walking. I could barely see through the downpour, but the burn in my chest was worse than the cold. The pain was suffocating, raw, unbearable.
Maybe this was what I needed. Maybe I needed something external to match the storm raging inside me.
I reached for my car door, my fingers barely wrapping around the handle before I felt it.
A strong hand curled around my waist, pulling me back just as a large umbrella tilted over my head, shielding me from the relentless rain. The warmth of a body—his body—pressed close behind me, his breath grazing my skin.
I knew before I even turned.
Vincent.
I sucked in a sharp breath, my body going rigid against his. He stood behind me, his coat drenched from the storm, his dark hair wet and dripping onto his sharp cheekbones. His fingers splayed against my waist—not demanding, not forceful, but firm. Like he needed me to stay. Like he wasn’t letting me go.
“I’m not letting you and my child walk away like this.” His voice was deep, controlled, but there was something underneath it. A quiet plea. A crack in his usually steady exterior.
I swallowed hard, every nerve in my body on high alert. His grip on me tightened slightly, not enough to hold me against my will, but enough to remind me that he was still there.
I should have stepped away. I should have said something, anything to shatter the moment before it swallowed me whole. But I didn’t.
I turned slowly, my breath catching when I met his gaze. His eyes were dark with something fierce, desperate, unspoken. The raindrops clung to his lashes, sliding down the hard angles of his face, and for a brief second, I felt like I had been thrown back in time. Back to when he was mine. Back to when he used to look at me like I was his entire world.
I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to stay grounded. “Vincent—”
He didn’t let me finish.
His lips crashed onto mine, and suddenly, the entire world disappeared.
A sharp gasp left my throat, but it was swallowed by his kiss. His hands curled around my back, pulling me closer, pressing me into the heat of him. The cold rain vanished, drowned out by the warmth of his touch. His lips moved over mine with a hunger I hadn’t felt in months, a hunger that matched my own.
I wanted to push him away. I should push him away.
But the second I let myself sink into it, I was lost.
It was reckless, dangerous, intoxicating. A kiss filled with months of pain, of anger, of longing neither of us had dared to acknowledge. It wasn’t careful. It wasn’t soft. It was everything we had been denying ourselves.
My fingers fisted into the wet fabric of his coat, my body arching into him as his hands roamed over my back, memorizing me like he was afraid I would disappear. And for a moment, I let him.
For a moment, I let myself forget everything.
Then, my beeper vibrated against my hip.
Reality came crashing back in.
I stiffened, pulling away just enough to break the kiss. My chest rose and fell rapidly, my fingers still curled into his coat. Vincent’s forehead nearly rested against mine, his breathing uneven, his hands still resting on my waist as if he couldn’t bear to let go.
Then his gaze dropped.
To my purse.
To my beeper.
To the name flashing across the screen.
Nate.
The tension between us shifted instantly.
His grip loosened. His jaw clenched, a flicker of something dangerous flashing through his expression. His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, but when he looked back up at me, his eyes were guarded.
“Are you going to answer that?” His voice was quiet, but there was an edge to it.
I didn’t move.
Didn’t answer.
Didn’t know what the hell to say.
Another vibration. Another reminder of the man who had been there for me when Vincent wasn’t.
I inhaled sharply, my hands shaking as I finally pulled away from Vincent’s grip. “I need to go.”
His fingers flexed at his sides, as if he wanted to stop me but knew he couldn’t. He exhaled slowly, tipping his head back to glance up at the dark sky.
Then, without another word, he took my wrist and gently pulled me toward my car.
I hesitated, torn between the past and the future, between him and everything I had tried to build without him.
But I let him lead me.
By the time we reached the car, the rain had gotten worse. I fumbled with my keys, my fingers trembling as I unlocked the passenger door.
Vincent pulled it open, nodding toward the seat. “Get inside.”
