Page 74 of Pretty Heartache

“I don’t know if I know what’s best for me anymore.” I shake my head, my voice still uneasy. I feel like I’m standing on the edge of a cliff, my toe reaching the edge. I can’t go back, and I can’t go forward.

“You don’t have to figure it out right now. But I can’t let you go. You make me feel something no one else has, Addy. I may not know what this is between us, and I’m scared as fuck, considering you’re my best friend’s sister, but I’m tired of pretending we’re the same people we used to be. I’m tired of pretending that all the other bullshit matters.” When I don’t answer him, his eyebrows knit as his eyes soften. “Just stay. Will you stay?”

I look into Micah’s eyes and try to read his thoughts. I search for them in the storm clouds that make up his blue-gray irises. Something tells me he needs me just as much as I need him. He’s filled a void in me that otherwise would still exist. Walking away is scary, but so is staying.

Either way, I’m left confronting parts of my life I’m not exactly ready to face.

I inhale an unsteady, shaky breath. “I’ll stay.”

NINETEEN

I sit on the edge of my bed and stare at my reflection in the mirror.

Adeline is still asleep, the sound of her breaths hushed and barely audible. Her gorgeous face is pressed against the pillow and her eyes are closed.

As quietly as possible, I slip on my shoes, quickly tie them and tiptoe out of the bedroom. I hate the thought of leaving her alone in the house, so I messaged Ray and asked if he didn’t mind staying parked out front, just in case he saw anything or anyone suspicious lurking around. I don’t need Lachlan coming back, and the best I can do is hope that my threat will have kept him from wanting to return.

Undoing the button of my suit, I climb into the driver’s seat of my car and back out of the driveway, waving to Ray before putting the car into drive and pulling out of the neighborhood. It takes twenty minutes longer than usual before I make it to Harding Holdings, and when I stroll into my brother’s office, he’s already tapping his finger on his desk—a clear indication I’ve fucked up his schedule.

“Traffic,” I tell him, falling back in the chair opposite his desk.

“There’s always traffic, Micah.” He taps his finger again. “This shouldn’t be a surprise to you.”

“It’s not.” I nod once. “I was just stating a fact.”

“Right.” He purses his lips, annoyed. “I don’t have time for this.”

“You called me down here,” I point out. “What’s going on?”

He taps his fingers a few more times before looking out the window. “I was thinking about our conversation at breakfast two weeks ago.”

I sink deeper into my chair and lay my hands in my lap. I can’t explain it, but I’m nervous. My oldest brother has always been intimidating. More so to others than to me but intimidating, nonetheless. There are moments like now, where I see the care and concern in his eyes, but he hides them behind his serious exterior.

“Which part?” I ask.

“All of it.” He sighs. “You haven’t talked about your time in prison very much, and I never asked. Part of me feels responsible for not having been there for you. Even though the judge didn’t offer any leniency, I still feel like there was more I could do.”

“Don’t blame yourself.” I clear my throat. “You shouldn’t, and there’s no reason for it.”

A tiny hint of a smile plays on his lips. “Easier said than done.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” I chuckle.

He rests his elbow on the arm of his chair and scratches at his chin. “I’ve given it a lot of thought these past couple of years since you were released, and despite knowing why you went, I also know it isn’t who you are. I don’t need to know all the details. But I know you, little brother. You’re a good person.”

His words hit me like a sledgehammer. His serious expression and the silence in his office overwhelms me. It swells and suffocates, and I choke on the truth.

I open my mouth, wanting to tell him. I want to tell him his intuition is right. But I don’t. I force it back down, swallowing it and fighting the urge to vomit it back up.

“Thank you.” It’s all I manage to say.

“With that said…” He sighs. “I want you to come back to work.”

“What?” My eyebrows rise, and I sit up in my chair. “Really?”

“Yeah.” He nods. “Considering what I just said and what I know to be true, I don’t think you need a break anymore. Unless, of course, you don’twantto come back to work.”

“No,” I blurt out. “I do. I’m just caught off guard. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I guess I wasn’t expecting you to give me a straight offer to come back.”

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