Micah turned to me immediately, his entire posture shifting—concern wiping away every trace of menace. His hands came up gently, cupping my arms like he needed to reassure himself I was still there. “You okay?”
I was shaken, but I nodded. Because somehow…I was. “Yeah, I’m surprisingly good.”
Before I could overthink it—or talk myself out of it—I stepped into him and pressed my mouth to his. He stilled for half a heartbeat, then lost himself in our kiss.
When I pulled back, my forehead rested against his chest. “I need you to hear something.”
His palm cupped the back of my head. “Anything.”
“I’m not fragile. I don’t need rescuing.” I tilted my face back to stare up at him. His attention sharpened; every ounce of him locked on me. “You didn’t save me, Micah. You elevated me.”
His breath left him slowly, as though the words hit him somewhere deep.
“You didn’t buy my success. You didn’t fix my life. No matter how badly you wanted to,” I added with a faint smile.
That earned me a crooked grin.
“You believed in what I could build—before I did.” I continued. “And you gave me a platform to prove myself.”
The way Micah looked at me then—like I’d just handed him something priceless—made my knees weak. He glanced down the hall once. Then he grabbed my hand and tugged me into the nearest storage closet.
The door clicked shut behind us, plunging us into darkness and quiet—and he was on me instantly. One hand braced against the door by my head, the other at my waist, his mouth claiming mine as his restraint had snapped.
He nipped along my jaw and down my neck. “Do you have any idea how proud I am of you?”
I clutched his shirt, breathless. “Micah…”
He kissed the place beneath my ear. “You did this, baby. All of it.”
For once, my life didn’t feel like something I was barely holding together. I was building something solid, professionally and personally.
He forced himself to pull back, forehead resting against mine. “I have to go. If I don’t leave now…”
“I know,” I whispered, even though I didn’t want to.
As he slipped out of the closet and back into the hallway, I pressed my hand to my chest.
For the first time in my life, hope didn’t feel reckless.
It felt earned.
The only thing missing was my sister, but the promotion was a giant leap toward moving Reese here.
14
MICAH
I’d been making plans for weeks, but things were finally falling into place. I’d spent this past week quietly finalizing the details, working the phones in the dark while she slept against my chest, talking to a friend of a friend who owed me a favor. Rylin had no clue what I’d been doing, and I just hoped she wouldn’t be pissed that I’d kept it from her. That she’d understand I wanted to protect her from the disappointment and heartbreak if things didn’t work out.
Rylin hadn’t said it out loud, but I’d seen it in her face, felt it in the way she curled tighter in my arms at night, how she lit up when she got a text from her sister, and how she always looked defeated and sad at the end of it.
She needed Reese close, not just to protect her, but because she simply missed her sister. It killed me to see Rylin worrying about Reese, constantly fighting the guilt she felt at leaving her behind. Even though Reese understood that Rylin had done what was best for both of them. Reese saw in Rylin the same things that I did, the person I was hoping she was beginning to glimpse through my eyes.
The place I found for Reese was tiny and nothing fancy. I knew neither of them would allow me to set Reese up in a luxury apartment. It was a 250-square-foot studio with scuffed hardwood floors and paint that needed a little love. But the neighborhood was solid, and it was a five-minute walk from The Tight Line.
And by some fucking miracle, it was rent-controlled and affordable enough that Reese could handle the rent while working at the delicatessen. Although I had every intention of eventually pushing for Reese to attend college full-time. Once Rylin was moved in and had a ring on her finger, I’d be able to whip out the “what’s mine is yours” argument. Because her family was my family. And I reserved the right to take care of my family.
Now, everything was set. Paperwork signed. Deposit handled. Utilities transferred. I’d even stocked the place with groceries. Not much, just enough so her sister didn’t walk into a dead fridge.
