Lee had the little Swiss Miss packets, but he also had the raw ingredients, which would take longer.
“Real hot chocolate. Let’s make some.” He didn’t give her the chance to decline but grabbed a saucepan from the cabinet. “Can you get the milk?”
By the time he’d assembled the sugar, salt, and cocoa powder, Wren had already measured out two cups of milk into the pan and found a whisk.
“We need a quarter cup,” she said, nodding to the cocoa. “And three tablespoons of sugar.”
Lee found himself smiling. “You know the recipe by heart?”
Wren’s grin swirled his insides. “You think I’d grow up with Mamaw Gigi without learning it?” He watched her add the sugar and cocoa before carefully shaking a tiny heap of salt into her palm. She sprinkled it into the milk and dragged her whisk over the bottom of the pan. “Mamaw adds a little vanilla extract, though.”
Lee crossed to his spice cabinet and took down the miniature bottle. “Here.”
Smiling, she took it from him, and Lee watched her eyeball a dash of it. The rich aroma of chocolate and vanilla filled his kitchen, teasing him.
She is my home.Lee gripped the edge of the counter.My God, what will I do without her?Swallowing hard, he turned away from the stove and busied himself by setting out two mugs.
When steam piped from the milk, Wren turned off the flame, tilted the saucepan, and filled both mugs.
“Should we go sit in the living room?” Lee asked, feeling like a man facing the gallows.
Wren nodded, her expression even, and the fact that he couldn’t read what was behind it made his forehead mist with sweat. He followed her into the living room and watched her choose a corner on his sofa. Lee hovered a moment, unsure how close he should sit — how close she’d want him if she was about to break his heart — but in the end he sat beside her. Not close enough to touch, but close enough so that he wouldn’t regret missing the chance to be near her if it was his last.
Wren held her mug in both hands and gave him a wary look. “What’s wrong?”
Lee took a deep breath. “Nothing,” he lied. If she had to tell him that he couldn’t be with her, that she needed space to heal, he wouldn’t let her feel responsible for hurting him. If he could, he’d lift each of her burdens, and he’d certainly claim responsibility for his own heart.
He sipped his hot chocolate. “This is delicious,” he told her truthfully. “Mamaw knows her stuff.”
Wren huffed a laugh. “Well, she knows food.”
“What else is there?” Lee joked, almost cheering himself when Wren laughed again.
“Boy,” Wren said, shaking her head. “She was mad at me today.”
Lee blinked. “Mamaw?” Wren’s grandmother was a spitfire, but it was hard to imagine her truly angry — especially at Wren.
But she nodded and took another sip of cocoa. Then her eyes met Lee’s. “She doesn’t really understand what I’m going through.”
Lee’s body went still. His blood may have even paused in his veins.
“But you do.”
Lee swallowed. There were a million things he could say — about how he was trying to understand, about how he’d support her through anything, about how much he’d read on cases like hers. But he didn’t want to be her doctor, and he didn’t want to smother her, so he kept his mouth shut.
“A few minutes ago, I said I didn’t really have a choice,” she said, frowning.
Lee’s heart started to pound.
“But that’s not really true. I have a choice, but it’s really no choice at all. It’s something I have to do.”
I will always love you. I’ll wait for you forever.
“What do you mean?” He forced out the question, but even then, his voice came out a whisper.
She studied his face a moment, and then she set down her mug on his coffee table.
Lee set down his own before he could drop it.Here it comes. Be strong for her.
