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I raise a shoulder, "You’re here, so yeah, it‘s not rocket science."
"Let’s just say, Michael is aware that I’d never do anything to hurt him."
"You care for him deeply," I murmur.
"I’d give up my life for him."
"Oh," a ball of emotion sticks in my throat. "It’s what I’d do for my sister Summer."
"She’s older than you?"
I nod, "We only had each other growing up, so we learned to take care of each other."
"You miss her?"
I nod again.
"Have you called to let her know that you are here?"
I hesitate, then walk over to sit down in the chair opposite him. "I’ve been texting her regular updates, enough so she does not worry about me."
"But she’s not aware that you are married."
"Or that I am pregnant."
I follow his gaze to my stomach and find I’ve placed my palm against my belly, as I seem to do so often nowadays.
"Why is that?" His voice is gentle and when I look up, the look in his eyes is even gentler.
A thickness clogs my throat and I swallow it away. "I just wasn’t sure where to start, really." I wring my fingers together, "I am not sure she’ll really understand what happened. More likely, she’s liable to fly down here and demand that I return with her—"
"And you don’t want to?"
"No," I say so softly that I can barely hear myself, but he catches it.
He leans forward and grips my shoulder. "You are not alone. We’re your family now, and we are all here for you."
I sniffle.
"And Michael, regardless of his growly, grumpy nature... He does care for you, in his own way."
"That almost makes it worse." I sigh and lower my chin. "I think the two of us have grown to care for each other, yet we seem to not have a single conversation without getting angry with each other."
"Maybe it’s how the two of you communicate, you know?"
"What, by sparring with words?"
"And with weapons." He waggles his eyebrows and I laugh.
"Yeah, I know, I can’t believe I pulled a knife on him. Not to mention, you know—" I mime whacking someone on the forehead.
He winces, "That was quite an escape you made there, young lady."
"I ended up driving a wedge between Michael and Luca because of that, didn’t I?"
"Luca did that all by himself, by betraying Mika."
I wince, "I played a role in it though. If I hadn't wanted to leave, Luca wouldn't have found the opportunity to do so."
