“Ha.” Emily rolled her eyes. “It only grew on her because it was your pet name for her.”
“So”—Zane drawled the word—“if I wanted to call her Butter—”
“Don’t.”
Luke, Zane, and Emily all burst into laughter. Gil did not join in.
IVY HID IN THE BATHROOM,listening to the sound of laughter coming from the conference room.
Lord, I think I’m in big trouble.
She didn’t know for sure, but she suspected the Lord was nodding.
I know you have everything under control, but it doesn’t feel that way to me. I can tell by the way Gil and the others are looking at me that they think I’ve been stupid. Or at least very naive. Maybe I have been? How much have I messed things up? And how do I fix it?
The Lord did not answer audibly. She knew he heard her, but she didn’t feel better. In fact, she felt awful. Her stomach was messed up, probably from the pain meds she’d popped with breakfast. Her entire right arm was throbbing. She wanted to cry.
She took several slow breaths, concentrating on the way her lungs expanded, then intentionally dropping her shoulders on the exhale.
Lord, I need you. I always need you. But if you don’t help me, I won’t make it to supper.
Feminine voices in the hall captured her attention. Faith and Tessa had arrived. She leaned against the wall. Was it cowardly to hide in the bathroom until the guys could fill them in on everything?
Maybe.
Did she care?
Not at the moment.
Ten minutes later, she forced herself to leave the room and walk down the hall. She braced for the onslaught of opinions and comments sure to be coming her way. With one final deep breath, she pushed through the conference room door.
And froze. The room was empty except for Gil. “Where is everyone?”
“Working.” Gil waved in the general direction of the cubicles.
“Emily?”
“Working on something different.” Gil approached her and reached for her left arm. “Let’s go somewhere more comfortable.”
She wasn’t sure how it happened, but seconds later she was walking down the hall, hand tucked in Gil’s arm, his hand holding hers in place as he guided them away from the cubicles, past the reception area, and into the office the sign said was for the assistant agent in charge—a position that remained unfilled since Jacob’s promotion.
He opened the door and directed her to a seating area that included two plush chairs. “I decided you needed a break.”
There were so many things she could say to that. Most of them snarky and revolving around him being bossier than she remembered. She said none of them. Instead, she sat in the chair, rested her head against the back, closed her eyes, and asked, “How did you know?”
“There were several clues, but your fifteen-minute trip to the restroom was what sealed the deal.”
She flicked a quick glance at him and then closed her eyes against the look she saw on his face. There was amusement, tenderness, and an underlying protectiveness she wasn’t sure . . . no, she knew for sure she wasn’t ready for.
Even though she couldn’t allow herself to take in any more than that one brief glimpse, she couldn’t stop the warmth of what she saw from cocooning her. How long had it been since she’d faced anything with someone by her side? She knew the answer, but she forced it from her thoughts. “I’m okay, Gil.”
“I know you are.” His response surprised her enough that she opened her eyes again. As soon as her eyes met his, he continued. “And I also know you most definitely are not.”
She didn’t have a response to either of his assertions, but he didn’t seem to need her to say anything.
“You’re strong. Smart. Independent. Resilient.”
“You don’t know that.”
