Page 95 of A Little Luck

He doesn’t believe it.

“I’m sorry.” The tears are fighting their way back to my eyes, and I hiccup a breath.

It seems to pull him from wherever he is, because he looks at me. His blue eyes are broken. They hold all the same emotions I felt the first time it happened to me—stunned disbelief, confusion, loss—but they also hold something else:Rage.

He takes a step closer and hesitates. “Can I touch you?”

It hurts, but I nod. “Yes.”

In a sweep, I’m in his arms. He holds me close, strong and tight, inhaling at my hair, sliding his face along the top of my head. I feel him tremble, and I don’t know what he’s thinking. I can’t tell anything about how this is affecting him.

He and Rex were friends as long as I knew them. They were like brothers…

Now I’m the one outside his walls.

Large hands cup my face, and he kisses my damp cheeks, first one then the other. Then he pulls me to him again. He’s breathing deeply, and I almost hear him… groaning?

His arms wrap around me once more, holding me so tightly to his body, it’s almost like he’s moving through this pain with me.

Lifting my hands, I hold his arms, closing my eyes and feeling his strength. Turning his face, he kisses my hands, clasping them in his before meeting my eyes.

His are so tormented. “Are you okay now?”

“I’m getting there.” Blinking fast, I force a tentative smile. “I’ve done a lot of therapy.”

“That’s good.” He nods, sliding his thumbs across my cheeks. “Thank you for telling me.”

His tone cramps my stomach. It’s still too formal, too distant. I don’t want him to thank me. Honestly, I don’t know what I want him to do.

“Areyouokay?” I ask, studying his expression.

When our eyes meet, I see it. He’s not okay.

“I think… I have to…” He taps his forehead. “I have to do something.”

His last words trail off, and he steps away. Hesitating, his eyes move from mine, down my body, lingering at my legs, then up again slower, lingering on my torso. It’s like he’s reminding himself where the wounds are, like he sees my scars through my dress.

His eyes tighten, and he steps to me once more, cupping my cheeks and kissing me. Then he turns and leaves.

* * *

“Best thingyou can do after a party is hire a cleanup crew.” Britt stands across the bar from me, whipping up raw eggs, cheese, onions, and mushrooms in a bowl. “Nobody’s drunk or tired or hungover. They come in fresh, probably just woke up from a nap, and they clean it all up.”

I’m sitting across from her holding onto a mug of coffee for dear life.

Adam left. He walked out of Alex’s office, and he never came back. He didn’t say a word to anyone. Aiden said he tossed his tie, hopped in his car, and drove away.

Not a text, not a word, only he had to do something.

Britt took my hand and told me to sleep here, so I curled up with my son in the guest bedroom and studied the picture Adam sent me last night. The three of them, curled in this bed. Only this time it’s me with Ryan and Fudge.

“How’d you sleep?” She’s watching me like I’m a time bomb… ticking.

“Good.” I nod, taking a long sip of coffee. “Ryan stayed on his side of the bed, and Fudge stayed right next to him the whole time.”

“I can’t get over that cat. It’s like he came to this town specifically for that boy.”

“Or we started feeding a stray cat, and he knows a good deal when he finds it.”

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