“Tessa?”
I snap my head up. “How?—?”
“The picture.” Nat points to the mantle over the fireplace. Her cheeks turn bright red, and she drops her gaze to her bowl. “I didn’t mean to pry. I just…I knew I’d never get a chance to see you again and I…”
A single tear glistens on her cheek. We’re close enough for me to reach out and dash it away. “I met her when I was working in the ER in Los Angeles. She came in with a spiral fracture toher radius—it’s a bone in the forearm. Her boyfriend had twisted it so hard…”
I can still see her sitting on the narrow bed, eyes downcast, shoulders hunched.
“She’d driven all the way from San Diego to get away from him. I treated her and gave her a card for one of the local women’s shelters. I didn’t think I’d ever see her again. But three months later, I ran into her at a coffee shop near the hospital. I almost didn’t recognize her. She’d found a job, made a few friends—even signed a lease on an apartment. We talked for over an hour. Before I left to start my shift, she gave me her number.”
“What happened to her?” Nat asks. From the hesitation in her voice, I wonder if she already knows.
“Her piece-of-shit ex tracked her down. He saw us together, and three days later, he broke into her apartment and…”
“I’m sorry, Doc.”
Nat’s hand covers mine. “You don’t have to tell me.”
“Yes. I do.” Forcing a slow breath, I link our fingers. “He stabbed her thirty-seven times. Beat the shit out of her first. By the time I got there, she’d lost too much blood. I tried to save her, but…she died in my arms.”
For several minutes, we sit in silence. I’m about to tell Nat to eat more when she clears her throat.
“Parker killed my brother.”
Her eyes turn glassy as she disappears into her own memories. “Logan wasn’t supposed to be there.Iwas. Parker came for me. But I’d gone for a run to clear my head before—” She reaches for her water and downs half the glass. “If I’d never left the apartment that night, my brother would be alive.”
I wish I could change the subject. Ask about her favorite movies or books or whether she likes deep dish or thin crust. But this might be my only chance to get her to open up to me. I needto know why this asshole was hunting her. And who the fuck he was working for.
“Tell me why he was after you. Or hell. Tell me anything, Nat. I’ve been trying toknowyou for a year now.”
Her flinch is the last straw. I’m tired of waiting for her to decide I’m a halfway decent guy. She knows enough about who I am now.
“Youkissedmethat night, remember?Youtookmeback to your place. You had your hands under my shirt.”
“I know.” She won’t meet my gaze, and her voice drops to a whisper. “I’ll never forget it.”
“The second you said ‘stop,’ I stopped. I backed off. I wanted you. Fuck. Istillwant you. But I would have been happy just being your friend. Am I that much of an asshole, you couldn’t even give me that?”
The pain in my chest is too much. I push away from the table. If I don’t get some air, I’ll say something I can’t take back.
As I slip out the sliding glass door, Nat calls my name, and fuck if I don’t want to run right back to her.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Natasha
I can’t bringmyself to step outside. But Doc left the door open a crack, and a light breeze cools my overheated skin. Too bad it can’t touch the shame coursing through me.
Standing isn’t working out so well, so I put my back against the wall and let myself sink down to the floor. “You’re not an asshole,” I say softly.
No response. He’s only a foot away, so I know he heard me. “Gladys would tell me to strip off my clothes—well, the clothes I’m wearing—and throw myself at you right now.”
Doc’s laugh is a gentle balm to my battered heart. “She may have suggested I take up naked sunrise yoga a time or two. Apparently, the best place for it is exactly halfway between your house and my campsite. I didn’t ask her how she figured that out.”
“Oh, God. Do you think she and Donald…or… Shit. She and Clancy…”
“That’s not a visual I needed. Ever.” Doc glances back at me. When he sees me on the floor, my head tipped back againstthe wall, he swears under his breath. “Fucking hell, Nat. You’re going back to bed.”
