I can’t erase his pain, but I can help him carry it.
Burdens are heavy if they rest solely on your shoulders.
“I’m good, thank you.” I make my way closer to where he’s standing next to the dining room table.
He lifts the glass and downs half the water in one swallow. “How are you doing? This was a lot for you to take in.”
I close the distance between us until I’m standing next to him. “I’m good. I’m glad you shared that with me.”
“You are?” he asks before he finishes the water. “Why?”
Watching him place the glass on the table, I take a minute to sort my thoughts. “It helps me understand you. I knew you were in pain.”
“It’s that obvious?” His gaze darts to me.
“It’s in your eyes,” I say softly. “There’s a sad story there.”
With a nod, he reaches to run his finger over my chin. “Beautiful, compassionate, and insightful Emma Owens. I didn’t stand a chance, did I?”
“A chance?” I search his face for clarity. “What do you mean?”
Is he falling for me too? Is his heart in free fall the way mine is?
He glances at the table again. With a step forward, he taps his finger on the edge of the picture of Drake and Jane. “I haven’t seen this. Drake sent it to you?”
Frustrated that our conversation has shifted in an entirely different direction, I sigh. “He did. I had that printed. I’m going to frame it for a wedding gift.”
Reaching down, he carefully picks up the print. He tilts it slightly to the right and then the left. “Is this the only picture you have of them?”
Stepping closer, I nod. “Yes. Why?”
With a slight shake of his head, he looks at me. “She looks familiar.”
“Jane looks familiar?” I lean in so I can gaze at the picture too. “You know her?”
He moves the picture again. This time he brings it closer to his face. “It’s hard to tell.”
Anxiety pricks its way up my spine. I don’t know anything about Jane other than she’s now my sister-in-law. “I can ask Drake for another picture of them at the wedding.”
I offer that to appease not only Case’s curiosity but mine too.
“We’ll meet her soon enough.” He drops the picture. “I’ve never met a woman named Jane, so I think it’s safe to say I don’t know her.”
It’s not safe to say anything. A month ago, I would have said it’s safe to say my brother would live in New York forever and stay single for years.
“Enough about Drake.” Case tilts my chin up. “I need to go to work, Emma.”
I glance at the picture one last time before I focus on him. “I’ll frame the wedding photo and find something else to do.”
“I’ll have the contract to you by the end of the day.”
Startled, I search his face for a clue about where exactly I’ll be working. “By the end of the day, today?”
He nods. “I want you to have dinner with me so we can discuss it.”
This sounds too business-like to be an invitation to move to San Francisco with him.
My heart drops inside my chest. “Okay. You’ll let me know where and when?”
