“Parenting is still a lot?”
I nodded. “So I’ve learned. But I wouldn’t trade it, not for anything. Except maybe for Livy’s well-being. I want what’s best for her, and what’s best for my dad’s health. But I don’t know what’s truly best anymore.”
“I know we just met recently,” Wyatt said, his voice so kind that my soul ached at the sound, “but Livy looks like she’s as happy and as healthy as she could be in her circumstances. You’re doing great, Emersyn.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “I don’t even have a job. Not a real one.”
“That’s a temporary situation. One you can change. One youwillchange.”
“I’ve tried.” The bleakness behind my words was an echo of what resonated inside of me.
Wyatt rested a hand on my arm. “Keep trying.”
I nodded and fought off a fresh onslaught of tears.
I had to keep trying. For Ethan and for Livy.
I sniffled and wiped the tears off my cheeks. I’d finally stopped crying, but my eyelids felt puffy, and an immense weariness spread through my body. Embarrassment rode along with the wave of exhaustion. Wyatt was the last person I wanted to see me at my worst, but he had a front row seat, and I had nowhere to hide.
I stood up, trying to ignore the aching of my heart. Somehow, I had to keep going, like I’d been doing since Ethan died.
“Is it all right if I give you a hug?” Wyatt asked as he stood up too.
Tears blurred my eyes again as I nodded. In that moment, I needed a hug even more than I needed to forget the gorgeous man standing before me.
He stepped closer and wrapped his strong arms around me in the gentlest way. I leaned against him, resting my head below his collarbone, listening to the steady beat of his heart and letting myself soak in the comfort he was offering. It was like I’d finallyfound shelter after battling through a fierce storm. I relaxed against his strong frame, letting myself simply exist in the moment, with no worries about what I might have to face in the future.
The embrace was so different from the one we’d shared in the dumbwaiter shaft. Yet, somehow, it was no less intimate, no less profound. I felt safe in his arms, protected. He exuded a warmth that was more than just body heat, more than just our crazy chemistry.
I didn’t want to let go.
And that was dangerous.
I gathered up what little shreds of strength I could find and stepped back out of his embrace. “Thank you,” I said with genuine gratitude. “I’m all right now.”
He searched my face, as if he were trying to make sure that I really was okay. His eyes were so full of compassion that my throat constricted and my eyes burned, but I was determined not to cry anymore that day.
“I totally get it if you want to call off the stakeout,” I said, trying to give him an out.
“If I do?” He seemed surprised by my words. “I understand if you’re not feeling up to it now, but I’m game.”
“I just cried in front of you, broke down in front of you. You’re supposed to run away.” In my experience, that’s what most men would want to do.
“I’m not running anywhere, Emersyn,” he said, never breaking eye contact. “Especially not when you need a friend.”
I tucked my hands up inside the sleeves of my hoodie. “Are we friends?” I didn’t mean for the question to come out sounding so tentative and vulnerable.
“I’d like to think so. New friends and business partners with lots of potential.”
The wordslots of potentialwoke up the butterflies in my chest.
I chose the safest way to respond.
“Associates. Not partners. It’s my agency, remember?”
A flicker of a grin made a fleeting appearance on his face. “My name’s on the card.”
“How many times are you going to remind me of that?”
