Connor appears with two mugs of coffee. Hands me one and takes the armchair across from me.
"She likes you." He nods at Maisie. "Kids can tell when someone's genuine."
"She's a good kid."
"Lucy's good with her too. Natural. She'll make a great mom someday." He takes a sip of coffee. Studies me over the rim. "With the right person."
The warning lands clear even wrapped in casual conversation. I meet his gaze.
"I see how you look at her, Ryder. How she looks at you." He leans forward, elbows on his knees. "I'm not blind. And I'm not stupid."
I stay quiet. Wait for the rest.
"You're my best friend. My brother in every way that matters. But Lucy?" His voice drops. "She's my baby sister. And she's already been through enough. She doesn't need someone who's going to leave and break her heart."
"I know."
"Do you?" Connor sets his mug down. "Because from where I'm sitting, you're not acting like it. The way you watched her at breakfast. The way you can't seem to stay away from her."
He's right and we both know it.
"She deserves better than me," I say.
"She deserves everything." Connor holds my gaze. "Someone stable. Someone who's ready for what she wants. Someone who'll stay."
The words hit me hard. Because he's naming every reason I've already listed. Every reason I should walk away.
"I'm not trying to hurt her."
"But you will." It's not accusation. Just fact. "That's what happens when you start something you can't finish."
Lucy's voice drifts from the kitchen. Still on the phone. Still worried about whatever's happening with the fundraiser.
"So what do you want me to do?" I ask. "Ignore her? Pretend this isn't happening?"
"I want you to be honest with yourself about what you can offer." Connor stands. "If it's three weeks and then you disappear back to Boston, that's not enough. Not for Lucy."
He's right. I know he's right.
But the thought of walking away now, of putting distance between us, makes my chest cave in.
Connor pauses at the doorway. "I love you, man. You know that. But I love her more. So whatever this is, make sure you're thinking about what she needs. Not just what you want."
Then he's gone, and I'm sitting here with Maisie asleep against my shoulder and the weight of Connor's warning pressing down.
I know the risks. Know I'm leaving. Know Lucy deserves forever, not just three weeks of stolen moments. Know pursuing this is selfish.
But I can't make myself care.
Once Emma comes in and takes Maise upstairs, I find Lucy in the kitchen. Her phone sits on the counter, call ended, but her face has gone pale. The gift she was wrapping lies forgotten, ribbon curling onto the floor.
"Hey." I close the distance between us. "What's wrong?"
"That was Emma's friend Jessica. She's on the board for the Pine Hollow Children's Hospital fundraiser." Lucy's voice shakes. "The charity hockey game might have to be canceled."
The words don't compute at first. "What? Why?"
"Ticket sales are terrible. We've only sold fifty tickets, and we need at least three hundred to cover the rink rental and make a donation worth the hospital's time. The cancer ward needs new equipment for the pediatric patients, and this was supposed to be the big fundraiser." She presses her fingers to her eyes. "I organized this whole thing. I convinced the board to try it. I promised them we'd raise real money. And now it's going to fall apart."
