8 Brand-New Romance Authors. Avril Tremayne

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      She didn’t answer. Just sat down on the couch and stared at her hands.

      “Micah, I hate seeing you hurt like this.”

      “I’m fine. Really. We don’t need to talk about it.”

      “I knew you would say that.” That was exactly what he expected from her. “But I’m kind of tired of waiting for the right time to talk to you.”

      She looked up with him, her eyes stretched wide. “I don’t want to talk about it!”

      “When will be the right time?” Recently his patience had been wearing thin, making him unsure of how to proceed, how to act around her, talk to her. It was all so exasperating. He had to remind himself to continue to be patient with her. She was in a delicate state of mind.

      “I don’t know. Maybe never.”

      She was frustrated and he knew it by the tone of her voice, the rigidity in her body language, but he wasn’t about to give up on it so easily.

      “Well, that doesn’t work for me.” Okay, handling delicate situations wasn’t something that came easily for him. “You have to get over him.”

      Her gaze snapped back up at him as if he had taken her by surprise. Did she think he was talking about something else? Was she thinking about the kiss instead?

      Her hesitation was clear. He could sense she was searching for a response. He had definitely caught her off guard. Moments passed before she finally spoke.

      “You...you say that like it’s an easy thing. You don’t know what it’s like.”

      “You know you weren’t the only one to go through this, right, Micah?”

      He could see the anger stirring in her eyes, her feisty personality wanting to tell him off.

      “No, but my relationship with him was different. My grief is different than yours. I can’t tell you how to handle it any more than you can tell me how to handle mine.”

      “I’m not telling you how to grieve. I have kept silent. I have let you handle it your way. I’ve been there as a shoulder to cry on more times than I can count. I knew you needed time. But it has been ten years. You can’t keep this up. What you are experiencing now is way past the point of being unhealthy.”

      “Unhealthy?”

      “Yeah. You’ve taken grieving to a whole new level, and you were only with the guy for two years. Don’t you think you’ve cried enough tears over him?”

      Immediately, he regretted it. He had seen the pain in her eyes just before she turned her face from him. He knew better.

      “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” He stood in front of her and reached for her hand, pulling her up toward him. “Come here.”

      She came freely, tucking her head under his chin, resting her head on his chest. He knew the moment he pulled her closer that it was a mistake. Her warm body flush against his was wrong on so many levels. He pushed past it. She needed a friend instead of the jerk he had been recently.

      She didn’t say a word. She wasn’t going to make it easy for him.

      “Micah, if you keep going the way you’ve been, I fear you’ll be just as dead on the inside as Drew’s body in the grave.”

      Still no response.

      She felt right in his arms. Like home. He couldn’t lose her. He wanted to keep her safe, right where she was, close to his heart. Keep her safe from the pain of the world and the pain of her past. But he knew he needed to let go and let her do what she needed to do. He needed to support her and encourage her to move on, even if it meant she moved on from him, too. Because when you loved someone, you put their happiness above your own.

      “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

      “I know.” She pulled back from him enough to look up into his face. “Why were we fighting in the first place, anyway? I was a little hungover, in case you forgot. I can’t really remember what happened.”

      Relief coursed through him. There was hope. Maybe she wasn’t thinking about the kiss after all.

      “I don’t know. I never know why we bother fighting. We both know there’s no point to it. We’re bound for life. It’s inevitable. Nothing will ever come between us. I promise.”

      “Good. Because I can’t imagine life without you.” She pulled away from him completely and headed toward the door. “Can you do me a favor?”

      She lifted up a worn-out old box and handed it to him. “Will you get rid of this for me?”

      “Sure. What is it? Do you want me to donate it or toss it?”

      “It’s just some Drew memorabilia. I felt like it was about time I got rid of it.”

      He hadn’t been prepared for that. Maybe she was moving on quicker than he had realized. “Really? Are you sure about that?”

      “Didn’t you just lecture me on this? Yes, I need it to be gone.”

      “Don’t you want to hold onto some of it?” This was a big deal, especially for her.

      “I already pulled out my favorites. The rest can go.”

      “Okay, but only if you’re sure about it.”

      “I am.”

      He hadn’t expected a change this quickly. She seemed to be handling it just fine.

      “Hey, I have an idea...”

      “What?”

      “What if we both get a tattoo? You know, like in memory of...”

      “You and your tattoos.”

      “But I’m serious. It will be fun. Plus, it will be something you have that will always remind you of him, but never take up valuable space in your closet.”

      She laughed, and then appeared to be contemplating his suggestion. He waited as she pondered.

      “Okay. Let’s do it.”

      “Awesome! I’ll call my guy and you think about what you want to get.”

      * * *

      Micah already knew what she wanted to get. She didn’t need to think too hard on that one. This whole conversation, however, was something else entirely.

      She thought he had been talking about the kiss! She had been sitting there mentally preparing herself for the awkward conversation, and he’d thrown her a curveball.

      All this time she had thought her friends had considered her annual time of grieving as a minor inconvenience. Sure, she had just come to grips with her own denial of the situation, but she hadn’t realized that Josh had noticed. She’d thought she was in control of it, the way she went about her СКАЧАТЬ