Page 79 of Frozen Flames

I do. Gemma keeps me whole.

Without her, I’ll break.

Yet Claire has been here every step of the way, watching me rebuild myself.

“Come game with me, please.” I need to fix things with her.Damn, and we were having such a good day. “Please,” I beg further.

I let go of her wrist, and she nods.

I’m happy when we spend the entire night gaming in silence like the good old days, hoping tomorrow will bring another good day as well.

Claire

“Why didn’t you tell me about your lunch with Gemma?” Harvey asks first thing Monday morning.

I sigh. “It wasn’t really planned… She was ignoring my texts, and then when she said yes and we met up, I called you after.”

“You could’ve told me. Takes five seconds to text.”

I nod, knowing he’s right. “It was a quick lunch. I apologized and told her I’d keep things professional between us from now on.”

He swallows before biting his bottom lip as he stares into the void.

I want to ask him about reducing my hours. See if he and Gemma talked about only keeping me on part-time. I don’t know how he would feel about that or if he would give me a heads-up. Except when I see him so out of it, I decide it’s not the right time. My mother always said there’s a right time for everything, and now isn’t it.

I hand him the weights, and I give him space, sitting on the couch while I add a few notes to his chart on the iPad.

I can’t help glancing over at him from time to time.

Honestly, he looks miserable even though he should be happy. The woman he loves gave him another chance.

What more could he want?

We stay quiet during most of the training except for the usual encouragement on my part. He retreats to his room afterward while I prepare us lunch.

When I’m done, I text him that the food is ready if he’s hungry instead of going to his room. I know he’s trying to keep distance between us. I’m sure Gemma asked him to, so I don’t want to push him.

I start eating my chicken and Greek salad alone, dipping my pita in tzatziki, when Harvey wheels into the kitchen and then transfers to the chair next to me.

“Thanks for the lunch, Claire.”

“No problem.”

“So what now, you’re going to ignore me?”

“I’m not ignoring you, Harvey. I’m taking space. This is how it should’ve been from the beginning.”

He chuckles, but it’s not a happy laugh. No, rather it’s laced with bitterness. “Alright, Claire.”

We don’t talk for the rest of the day. And it kills me.

I miss our talks.

But this is necessary—both for my heart and my job.

I’m wearing sage scrubs today with a matching satin headscarf, hoping to attract the spring weather. I barely slept last night, which is rare for me. To make matters worse, Henrik is at Harvey’s place when I get there this morning, chilling on the couch.

“He’s in the shower,” he tells me, scrolling through his phone.

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