“Shut up, man! I thought I was doing the right thing. You think I wanted her to faint?”
The words around me sounded as though they were underwater. Garbled and muddied. They were clearer now as I worked hard to open my eyes.
“Mare,” Chase said as his hand caressed my cheek. “I’m here, baby.”
My instinct was to get up.
“Woah,” he said. “Stay down, babe, where ya going?”
I didn’t even realize I was down. I saw I was on the floor of Gage’s office.
It came rushing back. The horror of my new reality.
Gage knew my secret, too.
I’m sure that meant Harper did as well. They, and whoever the hell else, knew I started my life here in New York as a glorified prostitute.
“Maryellen.” Gage’s voice was soft as he knelt by my side. His pinched brow as he looked down made my heart ache. The urge to run was strong.
I didn’t like drama, especially drama created by me.
Control.
“Hey,” Gage said. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have…said what I said.”
The concern on his face, in his words. I mean, I should have appreciated it, but all it did was make it all crash down on me again.
I worked hard to push it all away. I had to.
My breathing normalized, and Chase let me sit up in his arms.
“I don’t want the EMT to come, please.” The whispered words were a plea.
How did I let this happen? How did I become so vulnerable?
“They should check you out,” Gage said.
I knew it came from a place of concern. But I couldn’t do it. Pushing Chase away, I stood tall, steadied myself against the desk, and looked at them both.
“It was a panic attack, I get them. I’m fine. No EMT.”
Chase nodded at his brother. “Cancel it, Gage.”
While Gage went to his phone, I felt Chase run his hand along my back, a silent show of support as he stayed close.
“I’m here,” he whispered in my ear. “I’ll always be here.”
Nodding, I turned to him. “I know.” I paused. “Some things I still need to be able to do on my own, ya know? But having you here to support me through them, it does feel good.”
As he tucked a loose piece of hair back into place, he smiled. “I’d think nothing different of you, Mare. You’re the strongest woman I know.”
Gage cleared his throat, alerting us he was off the phone and interrupting our moment. I looked at my boss. Our relationship would be forever different moving forward, and I needed to make sure I set some ground rules.
“Chase, I need to talk with Gage.” I looked back and forth between the Parker boys. “My boss.”
“Of course, I’ll be down the hall,” Chase said.
He gently tugged on my finger before he turned and walked out.
