Page 41 of Saved By Love

Me:Give me a few minutes to get cleaned up.

Dalton:Everything okay?

I blew out a frustrated breath and replied.

Me:No. Nothing is okay.

Dalton:Take a deep breath and I’ll see you in a bit.

An hour later, I was walking into Dalton’s garage. He was under the ’55 Chevy he was restoring.

“How’s it going?” I asked, pulling up a chair.

“This car is a money pit; that’s how it’s going.” He slid out and looked up at me, his smile fading when he saw me. “Dude, you look like hell.”

I rolled my eyes and let out a gruff laugh.

“You need a beer?” he asked, getting up and heading to the small refrigerator he kept out in the garage.

Gaping at him in disbelief, I replied, “It’s not even ten in the morning.”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” he said with a wink.

“Nah, I’ll pass, but I’ll take a water if you have one in there.”

Dalton reached in, tossed me a water, then sat beside me. “Talk to me, Aiden. I haven’t seen you look this bad in a long time.”

I stared at the water bottle as I tried to figure out where to start. “Do you think we’re only allowed one love in our lives?”

He stared at me for a moment, then looked away in thought. “One love?”

“Yeah, like God only gives us one person whom we can truly call the love of our lives.”

Dalton focused back on me. “I think God gives us many people we can love, in different ways and in different capacities. Like I love my kids more than anything, but the love I feel for Tammy is different.Sheis the love of my life, and I know that without a doubt.”

I nodded, continuing to look at the bottle in my hands. “That makes sense.”

“You have feelings for her.”

My eyes shot back up to Dalton. “That obvious?”

“To me. Because I know you, and you’re like a brother to me. I’ve seen you at your highest and your lowest. It’s okay to have feelings for another woman, Aiden. Hell, I would be shocked if youdidn’thave some sort of feeling for her. She’s beautiful, smart, loves your kid already, and Hadley loves her… Anyone can see that.”

I rubbed the back of my neck where an ache was blooming. “There’s a problem though.”

“She works for you.”

I laughed. “Okay, thanks for reminding me that there aretwoproblems.”

Dalton leaned back in the chair, crossed his ankles, and motioned for me to go on.

“Thereisthe fact that she’s working for me. And the other issue is the feelings themselves that I’m having.”

“If it’s strictly a physical attraction, there’s nothing wrong with that. You’ve got needs like everyone else. And you’ve only hooked up how many times since Lisa died? Two? Three, maybe?”

“That’s not it, Dalton.” I swallowed hard, clearing my throat before I tried to explain. “The first time I evermetEmma, something strange happened. I felt something I’ve never felt before, withanywoman. Hell, I knew I was going to hire her right on the spot. I was almost desperate to know her. And I can’t tell you how hard I prayed for Hadley to like Emma as we drove over to her dance studio.”

His brows lifted. “Go on.”

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