Page 66 of Stuck On Them

Her eyes narrowed as if she didn’t believe me, and took the card from me, her lips tipping up into a smile. A twinge of jealousy crept in; I wanted to be the one to make her smile like that.

She set the card back down on the desk almost reverently and looked around the office. “It’s still kind of bare in here.”

I nodded in agreement. “It will be nice once you get settled in.”

The smile she gave me didn’t make her face light up like a genuine one did. She turned away from me, running a finger along a bookcase. “It’s hard starting over again, you know? It makes me feel off balance.”

It was easy to forget that she’d very recently left her life behind to start a fresh one here. There was still so much I had to learn about her.

I felt a sudden urge to protect her, but from what I wasn’t sure. Me?

Before speaking again, I cleared my throat. “I want to apologize for my behavior this weekend.”

She turned toward me, stepping closer and putting a hand on my chest. “There’s no need to apologize to me.”

I put my hand over hers. “But it affected you. You got put in the middle of it.”

“I understand where you’re coming from, though. I think maybe Garrett and Luca need you to spell things out for them because they didn’t grow up in your shoes and just don’t understand how those things change a person.”

She was right. Luca and Garrett knew I grew up poor, but I hadn’t painted a picture for them because it was hard to. The only two people who knew the extent of things were me and Libby.

Removing her hand from my chest, she stepped back, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Why don’t you explain it to them? I think that’s what’s upsetting both of them. Luca might not show it like Garrett does, but he was just as invested in that conversation.”

Being open and honest despite the pain it would cause me was the best thing to do if I wanted to make things right again.

I reached out and gently touched her arm. Her eyes met mine and there was so much understanding and compassion in them she might as well take my heart now.

She closed the distance between us, wrapping her arms around my waist. I swallowed the lump of emotion in my throat and hugged her back, desperately needing the comfort she was offering.

“I know it’s not easy to open up, Ry, but you have to let people see you,” she said softly.

Burying my face in her hair, I nodded and breathed in her sweet scent. She squeezed me tighter before pulling away just enough so that we could look at each other again.

“I’m so scared of ending up back in that place, even though logically I know I won’t. It’s embarrassing how much I’ve let this consume me and impact my relationships. And the pressure...” My words started to shake the tiniest amount.

She took my hand in hers, and I had to rapidly blink to keep the moisture away.

“You have nothing to be embarrassed or ashamed of.” She squeezed my hand reassuringly. “Your past doesn’t define who you are, your heart does.”

Fuck.

A traitorous hot tear slipped free, but she didn’t reach up to wipe it away. Instead, she leaned in and pressed her lips against mine.

Someone cleared their throat, and we broke apart. Garrett stood frowning in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest. “Your ten o’clock is waiting on you.”

I wiped the few stray tears from my face and gave Paige another quick kiss. “Thank you.”

Garrett’s arms fell to his side as he stepped out of my way. “Do you want me to do the meeting?” He reached for my folder, and I tucked it under my arm.

“I’m fine.” I smiled, but my cheeks quivered from the strain of fighting a frown. Now wasn’t the time to get into it anyway.

“If you say so.” He shook his head and walked into Paige’s office.

Now wasn’t the time to fix my problems, so I squared my shoulders and walked to the conference room. Right then, our client was more important. But for some reason, for maybe the first time ever, I knew that wasn’t true.

Chapter21

Field Trip

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