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“He told me he loves me,” I admit, my voice wavering.

“Why is that a bad thing?” She steps up to me and rubs her hands down my arms while she waits for my answer.

“I’m scared.”

Her face softens. She hugs me and I start crying again, already missing Nix more than I ever thought I would.

“Do you love him, Em?”

I tense up and pull away. Shaking my head, I step back and wipe away my tears. “I can’t.”

“That’s not what I asked you. Do you love him? Because let me tell you something, that man is head over heels in love with you.”

I look up in shock. “How do you know that?”

“Sweetie, anyone with two eyes and half a brain can see it. It’s plain as day on his face. Plus, he called me because he was so worried about you.”

“He did?”

“Yes, he did. He loves you, Emma.”

So many emotions are swirling through me that I can’t sort them out, can’t deal with even a single one of them.

“What’s going on in your head?” she asks. I sit down on the couch and she sits next to me, waiting for me to start explaining.

“There’s so much.”

“I know but let’s break it down, okay?” God, she makes it sound so simple. Maybe it is.

“I’m scared,” I admit. She nods slowly, thoughtfully.

“What are you scared of?”

“What if he hurts me?”

She balks. “Seriously? Emma, Nix is absolutely nothing like Ryan.”

“How do I know? How do you know? Ryan fooled people for so long,” I point out and she just shakes her head.

“No, we were never really sure about Ryan but you seemed happy so we let it be. Nix is an amazing man and it’s so obvious he worships the ground you walk on.”

“What if we break up? I just can’t handle all this, Ad.”

“Honey, that’s a risk that everyone takes when they start a new relationship but no one would find their lobster if they didn’t give it a shot. And for what it’s worth, I don’t think Nix is ever going to let you go.” Her words bring a smile to my face as I remember a comment Nix made.

“What’s that smile for?”

“I made a joke to Nix that he couldn’t be my lobster because he didn’t get a movie reference I made. He didn’t know what I was talking about but he looked it up online. He said he wanted to be my lobster.”

She gawks at me for a moment before her lips quirk up into a huge smile. “He said he wants to be your lobster?” I nod and her grin grows. “See, that man is nothing like Ryan. How many times did we talk about that in front of him and he never once even asked about it?”

“A lot,” I admit.

“Nix went out of his way to find that reference because he loves you.”

“Addy, the only other man who has even said ‘I love you’ to me like that is Ryan and he broke me. The words are bad for me.”

She shakes her head, still smiling. “Em, the words aren’t bad. Ryan was. Let Nix love you the right way.”