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She nodded. “Do you feel like you’re here against your free will?”

“No, I know everyone just cares about me…worries.”

She hummed. “Why do they worry?”

With a heavy sigh, I decided to just rip off the Band-Aid. “I don’t know if you understand why my boss has asked me to come talk to you. But in short, my wife was murdered on our wedding day.”

To her credit, she didn’t react aside from a slight frown.

“Based on your intake forms, I only knew you were grieving the loss of your wife. The details are something I like to uncover in real time.”

“Well, there you have it. Oh, and my best friend told me he’s in love with me.” Suddenly parched, I chugged the rest of the raspberry water down.

“That’s certainly a lot, Alex.”

“Yeah, and everyone thinks I’m being unsafe, angry, doing things I shouldn’t that could get me killed.” Wow, look at me and the word vomit.

“And are you being reckless?”

I shrugged. “I’m just focusing on my job.”

“Tell me something, Alex. If you could talk about anything today, what would you want to discuss?”

“I’m not a big talker about my feelings. I mean, last night Danny and I had a heart-to-heart, and it was because he told me he loved me…well, he sort of shouted it at me, and then he was racked with guilt over it and acting strange, so I made him come to my place so we could talk it out and be okay again. I got a little mushy—his words not mine.”

“And Danny is the best friend?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you have romantic feelings toward Danny?”

I snorted. “No. I mean he’s good-looking, funny, loyal to a fault, reliable, he’s a great person.”

“Mmm, and would you say those are the qualities that made him your best friend?”

“Absolutely.”

“And your wife, what was her name?”

“Mila.” My throat felt tight, and Leslie got up and poured me more water.

“Did she have the same qualities Danny has?”

I sipped the water with thanks. “I’d say so.”

“Two amazing people to have in your life. Sometimes those that touch our hearts and souls are here for a fleeting moment.”

I smirked. “Mila used to say something like that. She believed everything happened for a reason.” I shook my head. “I just can’t imagine her being gunned down had a purpose.”

“I don’t think in violent situations there’s ever a way to find reason behind it, and that leaves those who are left behind with an incredible void they have no idea how to fill.”

That was an apt explanation. “Danny thinks I should sell my house.”

“Is it a house you bought with Mila?”

I nodded. “Her dream house.”

“And you don’t want to sell it?”