Chapter 216

Alaric’s POV

Ruby’s request for a physical seemed to come rather suddenly after I picked up Cara from the rehearsal and brought her home, but I wasn’t one to ignore a healer’s orders, especially when she claimed she wanted to check me to see if they could pinpoint some medical ways I could help Cara recover her wolf.

“I’ll be okay here on my own,” Cara told me.

I was still worried about her, regardless of what she said, but I knew to argue with her would be to undermine her.

“If you are certain,” I said.

“I am.”

I couldn’t argue with that, so I made plans for the appointment.

When I returned back to the house around 6pm, I was surprised to find most of the lights off in the house. For a moment, panic began to rise within me and I called out, “Cara? Where are you?”

“In the dining room, Alaric,” she called back. “Come and sit down, dinner’s almost ready.”

Dinner…?

My panic subsided into confusion as I followed the sound of her voice into the dining room.

A lacy tablecloth had been draped over the table. A candle centerpiece cast the room in a warm glow. Looking closely at the dishware, I realized this was the nice china.

Were we expecting someone to join us for dinner? Before I could ask, I realized there were only two plates.

Then I looked up and closer at Cara herself. She wore a little black dress that hugged her curves. I had to glance away quickly so as not to be overwhelmed by impure thoughts right here at the dinner table.

“I’ll grab the chicken,” she said and disappeared out of the room. “Make yourself comfortable!” she called behind her.

Realizing I had better do as I was told, so I could continue with… whatever this was. A date?

I sat down.

Cara returned a moment later with a delicious-looking chicken dinner.

She carved me a piece and then set it down on my plate. On the table were buttery corn, mashed potatoes, gravy, and some warm biscuits.

Looking around, at the love and care that went into this dinner she wanted to share just with me, that old nagging guilt started to return.

I didn’t know how much of it showed on my face, but Cara was able to see it.

“What’s wrong?” she asked me.

“What’s the occasion?” I asked her in reply.

Her brows went up. “Do we need one?”

“No… I just hope you didn’t go through all this trouble just for me.”

Her shoulders slumped. “Why?”

My reaction was clearly disappointing her, and I could tell why. She went through a lot of effort here for this meal, and instead of just enjoying it, I had to find ways to make myself miserable.

“Just forget it,” I said, shaking my head a little. “It looks delicious. Let’s eat.”

She didn’t move an inch. “Alaric. Why?”

In the past, she might have let this go. I didn’t know what happened that changed that, but looking at her now, I could see the stubborn set of her jaw and the determination in her eyes.

She wasn’t going to let this go so easily.

I wasn’t going to be let off the hook today.

“Because I don’t deserve it,” I said.

The words startled her. “Why would you say that?”

“You know how I treated you, Cara. You know all the things I had done to you. Don’t pretend like I did anything worthwhile. I hurt you time and time again. Now, by some miracle, I am in your life again, but I do not deserve any kindness from you.”

“You can’t be serious,” she said.

“I am,” I told her.

She paused a moment, then nodded, before preparing her own slice of chicken. She sat down across from me and we began to quietly eat.

I regretted the things I had said, as they sat now like a heavy weight between us.

After a few bites, Cara said, “I have forgiven you for this already, Alaric. Since we’ve been reunited, you have done so much to protect me and the kids. You’ve proved time and again how sorry you are and how you’ve changed since then. I’ve told you I’ve forgiven you for the past, so why can’t you forgive yourself?”

“You are worth so much,” I said. “I don’t know if there’s anything I could actually do to make up for the harm I’ve caused you.”

“I’ve forgiven you,” she said again.

“But I’ll never forgive myself.”

She set down her silverware. “That won’t do.”

I couldn’t help it.

“There must be something I could say or do to help you understand that this should no longer be something that stands in the way between us,” she said.

“I’ve thought about it over and over like a broken record,” he said. “But I genuinely don’t know how to set things right.”

She wiped her mouth with her napkin and then set it down on the table beside her plate. “Perhaps this is my fault.”

“Absolutely not,” I started to say.

She didn’t give me time to finish. Instead she stood up again and moved toward me. “Stand up,” she said. “I want to show you something.”

I didn’t have a lot of faith that whatever she wanted to show me was going to make me feel better, but I was willing to try anything for her.

So I wiped my mouth with my napkin, set it on the table as she did hers, and stood.

She walked right up to me, closing the space between us until she was only a mere six inches from me. Over the past day, we had been spending a lot of time together, closer than we’d been perhaps ever, save for fleeting moments here and there. Yet, even so, my heart still felt lighter with her near.

She was my match in every way. How I wished I hadn’t ruined everything between us in the past.

“What will it take for you to look to the future, and not live in the past?” she asked me.

“I don’t know,” I told her honestly. This moment felt intimate and charged. It made me want to be open and honest with her in ways that I might have clammed up otherwise.

Slowly, she inched closer to me. Lifting her hands, she placed them on either side of my cheeks, cupping my face. All the while she held my gaze with an intense focus. I did my best to stare straight back.

I loved looking at her. She was so beautiful, so bright and calm. Everything I loved sparkled in the depths of her eyes.

She was almost too perfect, that sometimes it hurt, like staring into the sun. But I’d never look away, not from her, not ever.

Then, to my surprise, she leaned forward, pushed herself up onto her toes and kissed me.

My body moved on its own instincts, as I wrapped my arms around her, tugging her close.

With her mouth on mine, it was so easy to push my worries to the back of my mind and focus only on this, only on her.

If only that could be enough…