Rough.
Absolute.
“There was never anybody else.”
Her face crumpled.
Actually crumpled.
Like hearing that hurt her almost as badly as hearing about the letters hurt me.
“Oh God…”
I reached for her before I could stop myself.
This time she didn’t pull away.
Not even a little.
My hands settled carefully against her arms.
Warm.
Real.
Finally.
The second I touched her, Felicity broke.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Worse.
A shattered breath left her, and suddenly she was crying against my chest like she’d been holding it in for sixteen years.
And that?
That damn near destroyed me.
“Hey,” I whispered immediately, pulling her closer. “Hey, Flick…”
She clutched the front of my shirt with shaking hands.
“I’m sorry,” she cried softly. “I’m so sorry…”
“No.”
I held her tighter automatically.
“You don’t apologize for this.”
“But you thought?—”
“I know what I thought.” My throat burned hard. “None of this was your fault.”
Her shoulders shook harder beneath my hands.
