He had to say it. Even if it was only once, she needed to know. “I love you, too.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You do?”
He almost asked how she didn’t know until he remembered how he fought it. Denied that it could be possible. Then he lost her and the nights dragged and his life collapsed in on him.
“Shocked the hell out of me.” His hands slipped up then. He played with the strands of hair lying on her shoulder. Used the other one to caress her back. “It was one of the reasons it was so hard to tell you the truth about your father.”
She bit her bottom lip. “I didn’t make it easy.”
Maybe that was the answer. With them it would never be easy. They didn’t come from functional lives. Their backgrounds were dark and messy. They knew death and despair. But the point was always about “they”—them together. They didn’t have to be alone.
He linked his fingers behind her back and held her. “You happen to be standing in front of the one man who knows exactly how you feel right now. I understand what you’re going through, and I will be there for you. Every day. I want that more than anything.”
“And I’ll be there for you.” Her hand skimmed down his cheek. “To bring you out of hiding.”
That was the one problem area he wasn’t convinced they could overcome. The one piece that kept him from wanting to throw in and commit. His life could put her in peril. The idea of that made him want to rip the walls apart with his bare hands.
“My job—”
She put a finger over his lips. “Is dangerous, just like a lot of other jobs. You use yours as a shield. Let me teach you to drop it.”
Hope didn’t sneak up on him. It punched him. Smacked right into him. “Sounds like we can learn a lot from each other.”
“Well, we are dating.” She played with the knot of his tie. “And in love.”
“There’s that.”
“Yeah, there’s that.”
Then he leaned down and kissed her, because he couldn’t stand one minute of not kissing her. The touch of their lips sent a shock of heat racing through him. Like that, they went from disconnected to together. The harsh words fell away, leaving only forgiveness.
They understood each other. They would make this work.
He lifted his head. “Any chance you want some coffee?” It seemed like a good way to get them back on track.
She winked at him. “I’d rather go home.”
That sounded even better.
Three weeks had passed. Time where she barely left Wren’s side. She went with him to work on the days he went in. Lounged in his library on the days he worked from home. Talked with Tyler, who was now in an in-patient treatment center. The news about her father had been the one hit too many. Tyler heard the news then reached out. When his parents balked, Wren found him a program and provided the needed funds so he could break away from his parents’ hold.
She thought about him often, but the bulk of her life right now revolved around a few friends. Garrett and Caroline. No work. Not yet. She needed the leave of absence to clear her head. It was hard to argue that she could help solve cases when she’d never been able to see the facts right in front of her in her own life.
But today she’d ventured out. Wren had declared this Wednesday morning coffee day. If it worked, they’d make it a weekly event. Go out, get the drinks to go and leave. That was the plan. He stood at the counter right now waiting to pick up the cups.
Her instincts told her to stay plastered to him. To hold his hand and not let go. But she forced her mind to blank out some of the fear. To fight off her inclination to tuck in and hide. She’d never felt that before, but it hit her hard now. Every day she battled to be who she was before her father was arrested.
“Ready?” Wren stood next to the table with a cup in each hand.
He wore his usual dark suit and a tie that brought out the sparkle in those intense eyes. Today they reflected love and a lightness that made her smile. He’d been stronger and more supportive than she ever thought possible.
When she needed to sit and stare, he let her. When she wanted to talk and scream, he listened. Yesterday she even got him to dance with her. Right there in the family room as the music streamed through his fancy speaker system.
She used her foot to push out the chair across from her. “Sit.”
He glanced around, slipping so easily into protector mode. “Are you sure?”
“I want to feel normal. Just for a few minutes.”
He slid his chair closer to hers and sat down. His arm balanced on the back of her chair and he leaned in close. Almost surrounding her. “I’m thinking normal is overrated.”
She trailed her fingertips over the scruff on his chin. “True because you’re so much better than normal.”
“Oh, really?”
That smile warmed her from the inside. “You amaze me every day.”
“It’s because of you.” He slipped his hand over hers. “You’re pulling me out of the darkness.”