“Not everyone gives love the same way.”
“I know.” Her voice cracked. “But you’re doing it now. You know I need this and it’s helping. More than you realize.”
He brushed his thumb over her shoulder. “What did he say while he was in there?”
“He told me I handled it well. That there’ll be noise for a bit, but it’ll fade. He’s going to ignore it, and he expects me to do the same. Which I would have anyway.”
“You wanted him to comfort you, though,” he said quietly.
She hesitated. “He didn’t even notice I was upset. Maybe that’s on me for not saying it. He is who he is, Ethan. I can’t make him into something he’s not. I came back here to rebuild with him, but maybe I set myself up expecting more than he can give.”
“You found me,” he said gently. “That’s got to count for something.”
She looked up, meeting his eyes. He tried to hide the flicker of uncertainty he knew was there. A fucking unnatural feeling for him when it came to women and yet it’d been riding his shadow for months.
“I’m thrilled about that,” she said, her voice just a whisper. “You’re the one part of this move that feels right. Now that everyone knows, I can stop waiting for the fallout. The next few days might be awkward, but it’ll pass.”
“And you’ll tell me if you need me again?”
“I will.”
“Then stay with me tonight,” he said, voice low. “It’s Thursday and you always do on Fridays anyway.”
“I can tomorrow and Saturday like normal,” she said, climbing off his lap. “Let’s not push our luck. Too many eyes are on us already.”
He caught her hand, tugging gently until she leaned down. Her lips brushed his, soft and lingering. Then she was gone, leaving him with the ache of wanting to hold her just a little longer.
He couldn’t sit here and stew, nor could he focus.
He got up and walked out, went down the hall to his father’s office but saw it empty.
There was no one else he could talk to.
Well, he was wrong. There was one more person.
The one person who could give him more insight than his father ever would.
Back in his office, Ethan closed the door, switched on the sound machine, and sank into the chair away from his desk. Further away so there’d be no chance Nora would hear him. He stared at his phone for a second before pressing the button.
“Hello, Ethan,” his mother answered, warmth in her voice. “You never call me during the day. Everything okay?”
He exhaled slowly. “Something happened, and I’m… frustrated with how things are going.” He filled her in on the day.
“You can’t control it the way you want to,” she said, the humor coming through. “That’s always been your problem. You get an idea in your head, decide you’re ready, and dive right in. But other people’s emotions aren’t yours to steer. You can’t drive her feelings like your own.”
It was exactly the kick in the ass he needed. “But Iwantit that way.”
His mother laughed. “That’s you, trying to be funny to hide the hurt. I know you. I raised you. Don’t forget, your brothers went through the same thing. Egan had an uphill climb with Blake. Probably more than you. She moved here to reconnect with her father, was grieving her mother, and had to process all those lies. Nora’s path is different. She’s got her mother’s support. A foundation. Just like you.”
“She does,” he admitted. “But I want to be that person she goes to.”
“She did, Ethan.”
“No,” he said, rubbing his temples. “I had to call her.”
She sighed, that knowing, motherly kind of sigh that cut through all his bullshit and jokes. “She was working. You know she’d have come to you when she could. Stop twisting it into something it’s not.”
He leaned back, staring at the ceiling. The fact that Nora had walked into his office earlier, climbed into his lap, and let him hold her should have told him everything he needed to know. But he couldn’t get out of his own damn way.
