Micah’s chest tightened. He was attached, he realized. As much as he’d tried to keep his distance, he hadn’t.
Any woman in a relationship with him was setting herself up for danger.
He couldn’t do that again to someone he cared about. He’d let this go on for entirely too long.
He should have known better.
“I should go,” he murmured.
Something shifted in Naomi’s expression. “You don’t have to?—”
“I know. But it’s late, and you both need sleep. Besides, I’ve got an early start tomorrow.”
All true. None of it the real reason.
Naomi studied him, and he had a feeling she saw more than he wanted.
Finally, she said, “Thank you. For tonight. For handling Gio.”
“That’s what I do.” The words came out more clipped than he intended.
Her expression flickered. “Right.”
Micah paused at the doorway.
He should explain himself, his words. But an explanation would require honesty he wasn’t ready for, about feelings he hadn’t planned on having and walls he’d built for reasons that had seemed solid until about twenty minutes ago.
Instead, he murmured, “Lock up behind me.”
Then he left before he could change his mind.
