I clench my fists so tightly that my nails bite into my palms.
“I can’t lose control like that again,” I say softly. “You know why. You lived the nightmare?—”
“You’re not that man anymore, Damon,” she replies, just as softly. “You took the classes, got the therapy. You have techniques to control your anger, and you’re older and wiser and infinitely more mature. You’re not going to act without thinking, not going to do something that might hurt her.”
“How can you possibly believe that?”
“Because what you think was a nightmare for me—the attention, the fallout afterward—was the complete opposite.”
“You hated it,” I whisper.
“I hated it—hateit—but only because you suffered.” She exhales and it’s the slightest bit shaky. “Never be in any doubt that I know exactly how precious a gift it was that you gave me.”
“Ky.” Fuck, my eyes burn.
“Honey, you made it so I could dream again—and not just while I’m sleeping.”
My throat goes tight. “Ky,” I rasp again.
“You deserve to be more than just a man who fixes things. You deserve to have someone who looks at you the way Joey looks at you.”
Heart pounding, I ask, “How does she look at me?”
There’s a blip of quiet.
“You already know the answer to that, big bro. But”—her voice is gentle but laced with teasing—“since I know you’re reeling, I’ll give you that one.”
I inhale silently, brace for the painful pleasure of the words to come.
“Like the sun rises and sets by you.”
I close my eyes.
“Which, for the record, is the same way that you look at her.”
TWENTY-FIVE
Joey
I closethe door behind me then move to the table and lean back against the edge, not loving the look on Storm’s face. “Everything okay?” I ask softly.
His lips press flat then he nods, exhales. “I’m good. I just wanted to make sure you were after that crap the refs pulled tonight.”
That takes me aback for a minute.
Becausehe’sworried aboutme?
“Um…” I begin.
And there I falter.
Because what the fuck?
“I just—” His eyes slide to mine and then away, and the sinking feeling in my stomach grows as the pieces click into place. Damn.
I knew this was coming.
I just…
