Dana had made it clear she didn’t want him in her life.
Get a grip. She’s not yours. Remember?
“Your hand. Alex, what happened?”
“It’s okay. I’ll tell you about it later. What happened to you?”
“Tommy.”
Fuck, how he hated that name. Without even knowing the story, Alex wanted to wrench the man’s arms from their sockets.
I’ll kill him.
He forced himself to take a deep breath.
“Let’s go inside. I’ll make you a coffee.”
They walked into his office and she took a seat on one of the couches.
“No coffee, please. I can’t sleep as it is. Caffeine probably isn’t the best idea.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Thisis probably not the best idea.”
“What?”
“Being here. With you.”
“Never mind that.” He turned on the coffeemaker and it gurgled to life. “You don’t mind if I make myself a cup? I could use the caffeine.”
“Go ahead.”
Small and soft, her voice put a vise around his heart. As he waited for the cup of coffee to brew, the vise tightened, squeezing all the vitality out of him.
Swallowing hard, Alex grabbed the freshly brewed coffee. He sat next to her and waited, giving her as much time as she needed to unburden herself.
“So,” she began, “I saw Tommy.”
The imaginary vise turned into a massive millstone, grinding Alex’s heart into powder. “Okay.”
“He cheated on me while we were together. They’re having a baby.”
Alexwouldkill Tommy. He might even toss him under that millstone. “I’m sorry.”
“This shouldn’t hurt as much as it does.”
“Give yourself some credit. You’re only human.”
“It doesn’t matter. I should be able to rise above it. This isn’t like me. I don’t sit around the house, pining for men. I move on. It’s what I’ve always done. I don’t understand why I’m so stuck.”
“Dana.” He gentled his tone. “You’re not pining for Tommy. The man’s a shithead and doesn’t deserve you, and you know it. This has never been about Tommy.”
Her eyes welled up.
He put his coffee down and curled his arm around her shoulder. “Sweetheart, you need to talk to someone about your condition.”
“I can’t. Alex, I just can’t.”
“You have to.”
“I feel like I’ve lost myself. I’ve never been the sort of woman who picked out baby names before she picked out a husband. I’ve always rolled with the punches. But now, I can’t help feeling this is somehow my fault. That I failed somewhere along the way.”
