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“Exactly,” I confirm.
“So the question is, are we okay with letting Tomer handle it and dealing with the consequences whenever the truth comes out?”
My head hits my chair, and I stare at the ceiling. If only the answer were written on the drop tiles above me.
“I need time to decide. Last thing I want to do is rush this decision on two hours of sleep.”
“That’s fine by me. I’m in no hurry.”
“I’m trying to put myself in his shoes, but it’s hard. And we have to consider Lettie’s side of it too. If we assume she doesn’t know, is it our place to intervene? We saved her; shouldn’t that be enough?”
“If anything, perhaps saving her will buy our forgiveness,” she says meekly.
“Honestly, I don’t care about myself in this equation. I’m more concerned about how this will affect the three of them.”
When I finally drop my gaze from the ceiling, she wears the tenderest expression, but I can’t decipher it.
Finally, she speaks, giving me an inkling of what she’s thinking. “You’re a good man, Cal. The most selfless person I’ve ever known.”
I catch myself squirming. I’m not used to being praised this way. It’s strange.
Almost foreign.
Sensing my discomfort with her words, she adds, “I mean it. Listen to yourself. Concerned about what they feel instead of how it will impact you. Here I am, worrying how it will blow back on me, and you glaze by that fear without a second thought.” She bows her forehead and whispers, “I wish I could be like you, but I don’t know how.”
I cup her cheek in my palm, gently tilting her to look at me. “Mia, there’s nothing wrong with self-preservation and having defense mechanisms. Just don’t let them guide every decision you make.”
“Easier said than done,” she replies, her voice a mere brush of a feather.
She turns away from me, freeing her cheek from my grasp.
I contemplate how to respond, but all I can think about is how striking it is to see this side of her. Vulnerable. Honest.
Regret over my earlier treatment of her fills my chest, making it hard to breathe deeply.
She thinks I’m selfless, and I suppose I usually am. But in her office, I was a selfish ass. All I could focus on was how my distrust of her would wreck me all day. I was confused when she left the kitchen and expected she’d pelt me with questions or manipulate me into talking. But she didn’t. And then I started to wonder if maybe she used her laptop on the table to spy on us. My mind was a shit show after I left my mom’s. I had all these emotions and nowhere to put them. And I turned them on her. I didn’t give a shit about how my accusation would affect her.
Even if considering her side didn’t change what I said, at least I would have made the decision from a better place.
I fill my lungs with a cleansing breath. “How about this?”
Casting her gaze on me, hope twinkles in her emerald eyes.
“My sister has been on my case about putting myself first more often, but I haven’t been able to do it. Maybe you can help me see why my own interests matter sometimes, and I can help you see why other people’s needs do too.”
With misty eyes, her face brightens into a radiant smile, making my heart swell. “Can I tell you a secret?”
I dip my head encouragingly, not trusting my voice.
“You’re already helping me.”
“Good.”
She weaves her fingers through mine, and I bring them up to kiss her knuckles.
“I should apologize.”
“For what?”
