No, wait. I had. When I had given birth to Lily and I was hazy with epidural. I remembered the way he looked at me and my daughter.
When he turned back to me, I was standing in the doorway and trying to process what I was feeling.
“You okay?” he asked.
No, I wasn’t okay. I was falling for him—had already fallen, and was just now realizing how much.
“Yeah,” I lied. “Thank you. For everything. The phone call, holding me, taking care of Lily. You didn’t have to?—”
“I wanted to,” he said, moving closer, and in the dim light of the hallway, his eyes looked impossibly blue. “Paige, you don’t have to thank me for basic human decency. For caring about you and Lily.”
“Most people wouldn’t?—”
“I’m not most people. I’m your childhood friend.” His hand came up to cup my face, thumb brushing across my cheek. “And you deserve so much more than what Jack gave you. You know that, right?”
I couldn’t speak. I stood there as Derek looked at me like I was something precious, something worth protecting, something worth?—
“Get some sleep,” he said softly, dropping his hand. “Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.”
I nodded, pulling away from him.
This wasn’t real. I needed to remember that.
16
BREAKING THE RULE
DEREK
Even though I had told her to sleep, I knew Paige hadn’t gone back to her guest room.
I was an idiot.
Because I wanted to stay with her after making sure her daughter fell asleep. The way she looked at me made me want to kiss her and drag her back to my room.
So I walked away. It felt almost impossible leaving Paige standing alone in that hallway.
I was a man of logic so I should sleep and not walk out of my bed and make sure she was okay.
Yet here I was, finding her on the couch in the living room, curled up with a cup of tea, the large robe swallowing her slight frame. The city lights cast shadows, making her look vulnerable in a way that made my chest ache.
I sat down, putting enough space between us to keep my hands to myself.
“You can’t sleep either?” Paige asked, her voice small.
I shook my head, looking at her, and the distance between us felt like torture.
“You should be sleeping,” I said, even though I was glad she wasn’t. “Tomorrow’s going to be?—”
“Every time I close my eyes, I hear him saying those things and threatening to take Lily.”
“He won’t,” I said, moving closer. “I won’t let him, Paige. I promise you that.”
She looked up at me, her eyes still red from crying but clear now. “Why are you being so good to me?”
The question caught me off guard. “What?”
“This,” she said, gesturing between us. “All of this. The fake relationship, letting us stay here, defending me against Jack. Taking care of Lily in the middle of the night.” Her voice wavered. “Why, Derek?”
