And I’m a woman starved for affection.
Sue me.
I cup my hand over my eyes to shield the sun and watch as he walks back and forth, assessing the damage. After about ten minutes of that, he climbs back down.
“You need a whole new roof. There are some soft spots up there that really need to be fixed, too.”
My shoulders sag, remembering my father said the same thing. He even offered to pay for it but I can’t let him do that. He’s done enough for me over the years. A quick fix will just have to do.
“Well, I can’t afford that. So if you could just quote the damage, that’d be great.” I pat his shoulder and turn to leave but he catches my wrist. The heat of his touch is enough to rob me of a gasp, and a whole lot of other things.
The burning flame in his eyes infuriates me. I’ve spent most of my life trying to resist this, and now that I can have it, I can’t bring myself to take it.
I don’t deserve it.
I snatch my wrist from his hand. “What are you doing?”
“I just want to help, Syl.”
“You can’t save me, Linc. No one can,” I whisper.
“I’m not here to save you. I’m here to love you. Because I never fuckin’ stopped.”
His words wrap around my heart, reminding me of my own truth. One I’ve carried around for as long as I can remember.
I never stopped loving him either.
