I swallow hard.
“She hasn’t. I haven’t seen her. And I’m terrified she’s out there somewhere and something’s happening and I don’t even know.”
A single tear slips down my cheek.
I stare at my hands because if I look at Jake I might fall apart completely.
Then I feel movement.
Jake stands abruptly. His chair scrapes softly against the floor.
For a split second I think he’s leaving the room, and my stomach drops.
But he comes around the table and crouches beside me.
His big body folding down until he’s level with mine.
He pulls me into him, wrapping his arms around me in a tight, protective hug that steals my breath.
His chest is warm. Solid. Safe.
My face presses into his sweatshirt, and I breathe him in. Soap. Clean laundry. Something that feels like home.
I fist the fabric at his back like I’m anchoring myself.
He holds me like he knows exactly what it feels like to be left behind.
His hand moves slowly up and down my back. Steady. Reassuring.
“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, his voice rough near my ear.
The words crack something open inside me.
I squeeze my eyes shut.
“I don’t know what to do,” I whisper.
His arms tighten just slightly around me.
And as I sit there in my accidental husband’s embrace, my heart cracked wide open and still somehow steady, I realize the scariest truth of all—
I don’t just want him here tonight.
I want him beside me for whatever life throws at us.
For better or worse.
Till death do us part.
21
JAKE
Instinct
Iwake up in a bad mood.
That’s not unusual, but today it’s got teeth. It’s the kind of grumpy that sits heavy behind my ribs, like a bruise someone keeps pressing.
