There wasn’t anything clever to say to that, so I nodded.
“Jamie, I may not know much about your situation, but that’s a lot to carry on your own. Even for a tough girl.”
He wasn’t wrong. I’d just been on my own for so long that letting someone step in felt foreign. Reckless, even. Leaning on him meant trusting he wouldn’t disappear the second things got too tough. The moment I became too much.
“You’ve got enough on your plate. I don’t want to add to your stress.”
His mouth tipped into something like a smile. “You’re not. This helps—focusing on you instead of living in my own head. I’ve been stuck there too long.”
It sounded like a handy excuse for avoidance. Hell, maybe it was. But the way he said it made it feel like a decision he’d already made. One I should go along with.
“What do you say, beautiful?” His thumb brushed the back of my hand. “Should we go say hi to your old man?”
The idea of introducing a man to my father made me laugh. “How about you just walk me to his room? No offense, but I doubt he’d be thrilled to meet you. He’s not big on strangers. Or people in general.”
“Fair enough.”
He didn’t let go of my hand when we left the cafeteria. Didn’t ask if it was okay. Just led the way, unhurried, like we had all the time in the world, his thumb tracing steady circles against my skin.
There was nothing overtly erotic about holding hands in a hospital corridor, yet my body reacted anyway. Heat settled low. My skin prickled. Every sense tuned to him.
Two days. That’s all it had been since we met. It was too soon to feel this close to anyone. Too soon to want this much.
“What are you doing this afternoon?” His voice sliced through the quiet like he could sense I was about to flee.
“Besides hanging out in this place?” I shrugged. “I don’t know. I need to stop by my dad’s house soon. It’s probably a mess. I should figure out what kind of work it’ll need. To sell it. Once he’s…gone.”
My throat tightened.
Eric’s firm grip shifted, sliding up around my wrist, drawing me closer. “I’ll go with you.”
It wasn’t a request—more of a declaration. The certainty of it knocked the breath out of me.
He wanted to go with me. To my father’s house. To the place I hadn’t set foot in for ten years. The place that held too many ghosts.
“I…I don’t…you don’t.” My mind scrambled for a way out. “I mean, you don’t have to. I don’t even know how bad it is. It’ll be boring. Possibly gross. I’ll just be making lists?—”
“Jamie.” He tugged me even closer. “Stop.”
The spiral closed off. My mouth snapped shut.
“No more excuses. Let’s cut the bullshit with each other. Deal?”
It sounded simple. It felt anything but. I’d been editing myself for so long I wasn’t sure what the uncut version even looked like anymore.
“I can do that,” I murmured. “At least, I’ll try.”
“Good.” He nodded, assured. “I’m not worried about the details. If you want company, I’ll go. If you don’t, I’ll stay here.”
The way he said it made my chest tighten, not with pressure, but with the strange relief of being allowed to choose.
“Don’t you want to stay with your family?”
He glanced down at our joined hands, grip still firm. “Honestly? I think I need some space. My brother and sister are on their way. Things are always a bit chaotic with them around.”
His thumb shifted against my skin again. “An afternoon out sounds better. Especially if it’s with you.”
The fact that he wanted to spend that time with me, even as an escape from his burdens, sent a flutter straight to my core.
