She chuckles. I can fool the best of the military, but not my own flesh and blood. “You know, this could be avoided if you’d ask Cleo out yourself.”
I uncover the plate and slide onto the stool next to her. “I don’t want to date her.” She hums in the back of her throat. “What?” I snap.
“It’s amusing how you believe your own lies.”
“Cleo is a complication I don’t need right now.”
“That’s the truth at least.” I shovel in the perfectly scrambled eggs.
“Plus, Sam is smitten.”
“Sam is smitten with a make-believe version of Cleo that doesn’t exist.”
“Agreed, but that is up to him to figure out.”
“Don’t hurt her, Fox.”
I jerk back. “I would never hurt a woman.”
“Not physically, you twit. Did I ever tell you how I met your grandfather?”
“No. If it was love at first sight, I don’t want to hear it.”
She snorts. “Your grandfather was relentless, and I was not amused. He was all wrong for me. At least, that is what I thought.”
“Wrong, how?” As far as I knew, they were madly in love until the day he died.
“The guy I’d decided I needed was someone who was easily manipulated, a push over, someone to be by my side, to support me, but not get in my way.”
“And that wasn’t Gramps.” He was the opposite of a pushover. Difficult is a better word to describe him.
“No, it wasn’t, because what I needed was a partner, someone to call me out on my bullshit, to pull me back to Earth when I was spiraling.”
“He definitely did that.”
She nods as her eyes glaze over. “So what I’m saying is, you might believe you want and need a woman to bend to your every whim, who won’t question or challenge you. But that’s not how we improve or become the best version of ourselves. Left unchecked, we start to believe our own shit. What you need is a puzzle piece that fits your jagged edges. Someone whosoothes your worries and helps you see the qualities in yourself you miss, but accepts the shortfalls and still loves you for them.”
“And you think Cleo is that for me?”
“No. I think you might be that for each other.”
“She’s leaving.”
Her head snaps to mine. “What?”
“I already stopped her once, but we are on borrowed time. She’s leaving us in less than a month. I can’t get attached to a woman who is running.”
“Yes, you can.”
“It will only hurt us both.”
“Then I suggest you give her a reason to stay, one bigger than the demon on her tail. Help her to stand strong, to face whatever shadows are chasing her. Be a sentinel at her side. Don’t smother her, and for fuck’s sake, Fox, stop kidding yourself that the only reason she scares you is because you know deep down that she could be it for you.”
She’s wrong. I already know all of the above. In the space of a few days, Cleo has captured me in her spell of contrasting snark and softness. I’m strong enough to be at her side, but she has to let me in.
I don’t seeCleo for the rest of the morning. I have a few errands, some meetings and emails that need my attention. I also put out a tentative message to a contact.
Fox
