Read Online The Light Between Us by Beth Morey - Free Book Online Page B

open in disbelief when he saw none other than Padme round the corner. 
     
    “ Holy.  Shit.”  He glanced skyward again.  “Thanks?” he muttered through his shock.  Was this actually happening?
     
    Padme squinted as she marched forward, toward him.  “Derek?” she asked.  A smile began to slide across her lips, then stopped as suddenly as her feet did.  Her hands flew to her hips, handbag dangling from one wrist.  “Wait.  What's going on?  I thought Ruth was going to call you tonight.”
     
    He shook his head.  “She did.”
     
    Her mouth morphed into a thin, angry line.  “What did you do?”
     
    “ Nothing,” he said, extending his open hands toward her in a gesture that felt completely unfamiliar, if earnest.  “There was a – misunderstanding.  And now she won't answer my calls.”
     
    “ What kind of misunderstanding, exactly?  If you broke her heart after she put it out there for you –”
     
    “ I was out with some friends of mine.  I'd stepped away from our table, but I left my phone there.  And then Ruth called, and Sandra – my friend's girl – answered it because she is – God, I don't know how to even begin to explain her.  Anyway, Ruth heard a woman answer my phone, and thought the worst.”
     
    “ Can you blame her, after what happened this morning?”  Padme rolled her eyes with a groan.  “Look, I don't know what she sees in you.  I don't think she knows, either.  But she likes you.  My dear, sweet, amazing friend who hasn't let a guy into her life in a real way in a long while has let you in.  And you are not treating that as the gift that it is.”
     
    “ I know,” Derek said, throwing his hands up in the air.  “Do you think I don't know that?  Someone like me doesn't deserve someone like her.  But I like her.  I really like her – and let me tell you, that is new for me, too, although in a different way from how it's new for Ruth.  I am serious when I tell you – when I told her – that I want to do right by her, to see what we could be together.”
     
    “ Well, right now she is probably heartbroken, and you are still a douche bag.  That is what you are together.  And if that's how it's going to be with you in her life, then the sooner you are gone, the better, as far as I'm concerned.”  Padme moved to continue down the sidewalk, but Derek held out a hand.
     
    “ Wait, please.”
     
    She stomped one of her heels against the ground.  “What?”
     
    “ I know I don't deserve it.  I know I don't deserve her.  But can you help me get in touch with her, at least to explain that I didn't lie?  To explain that it was my friend's girlfriend on the phone, not a random hookup?”
     
    “ Why should I?”
     
    “ Because,” he said slowly, groping for the right words, “you love Ruth.  You don't want her to hurt.  And you said it yourself – that she probably is very hurt right now.  If I can explain what happened, it'll help her hurt less, right?”
     
    Padme scowled and shook her glossy mane in irritation.  “I guess.”
     
    “ She doesn't have to give me another chance if she doesn't want to.  I don't expect that.  I just – I really need to explain.  And . . .” he flashed what he hoped was an endearing and apologetic half smile, “you seem like the kind of woman who enjoys a man begging for forgiveness.”
     
    A hint of amusement entered Padme's eyes.  “You're right, I do like that.  But only if the guy doing the begging is worth knowing after the forgiveness is given.  And I'm not sure you are.”
     
    “ That's fair.  Although I've never thought about it before, I guess I'm not sure I am worth it either.”  He leaned back against the wall again, tipping his eyes toward the sky.  “But I damn sure wouldn't mind finding out.”
     
    Padme stood scowling at him for a moment in silence, arms crossed protectively across her chest.  Then she sighed in exasperation.  “Fine.  Fine .  I'll