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“Isn’t it?” I refused to let go of his gaze. It had taken me so long to get over the hurdle.
“If I take my eye off the business, someone could get hurt,” he rasped. “Someone could not get the help they need. Someone…”
My throat swelled tight. “What is it?”
“Ace and I were the ones who found her—found Addy. Beaten and unconscious in the back of a burning car,” he rasped, the expression on his face indicating that the memory felt like it was yesterday. “I was distracted with school—with parties. If I’d been more present in her life—more aware of the person she was with, maybe it never would’ve gotten to that point. Maybe her life wouldn’t have been in danger…”
“Zeke, you can’t blame yourself.”
“I don’t blame myself for what happened to her, but I would blame myself if something happened to any of the residents because they’re my responsibility,” he said staunchly.
“And what if you don’t take care of yourself? Whose responsibility is that?” I tipped my head. “Who takes care of you?”
The last came out a little breathless because I was no longer a resident or just his friend or assistant; I was his wife. And even though this was a sham, I still ached to take care of this man who put taking care of everyone else first.
Zeke sighed. “Now you’re starting to sound like Addy. I’ll be fine—I’ll manage.”
I’ll be fine.
“That’s what I thought, too, about staying with Stan,” I said quietly, my gaze dipping to my lap. “And then I ended up in the hospital from an overdose.”
I told myself it didn’t matter that Zeke didn’t know the whole story—the whole truth. What mattered was that I’d stayed—I’d sacrificed myself to be there for my son until it almost killed me, and that was when I realized the only way to take care of Jake was to take care of myself.
“Kenzie…” The way he drawled my name, staring at me like he saw something more in my confession made my breath catch.
There wasn’t more. At least, not for him to know. Not now. It was too dangerous. I trusted Zeke—I trusted him so much. But not with this. I would do anything to protect my son—including marrying a man I hardly knew. But giving Zeke the whole truth about my past… that wasn’t protecting anyone.
Blood rushed to my head, and I placed my hand on the counter to steady myself, scrambling to shift the conversation.
“Did you tell Addy…” After everything the two of them had been through, to not tell her he was getting married.
Between his proposal, moving what things I had from Blooms over to his apartment yesterday, and then going to the courthouse today, I knew he hadn’t seen either of his sisters; maybe he’d called them, but I didn’t think so. Jake was my only family, but Zeke… he had so many people in his life—so many people that loved him and would want to be at his wedding. And for me, he’d forgone all of them.
He shook his head. “No. I’ll tell my sisters soon,” he said.“It won’t stay a secret for long.”
Almost everyone at the courthouse knew Zeke. The guards. Other lawyers. Receptionists. The judge who’d married us. No one except the judge knew the truth for certain, but we’d also walked in there in a suit and white dress. At some point, the rumors were going to spread, and in a small town, Zeke’s sisters would be among the first to find out if he didn’t tell them soon.
“Don’t be sorry,” he warned and then went to the freezer, leaving me wondering if my expression was that transparent.
“Okay,” I agreed.
He pulled out a carton of ice cream, set it on the counter, and offered me a spoon. I froze. Past and present collided, and my first instinct was to refuse because instinct was the only thing that had kept me safe for so long.
But I could trust Zeke. I knew I could trust him. Maybe not with the whole truth, but to share some mint chocolate chip, I could.
“Thanks,” I murmured, taking the spoon but letting him dig in first.“Do you think your sisters will be upset?”
“Addy, yes. Eve, yes and no,” he answered honestly. “Don’t worry about my sisters, Kenzie. Nothing would’ve changed my mind about marrying you.”
My breath caught. He didn’t mean it like that—like hewantedto marry me. But for some reason, I couldn’t stop myself from hearing it that way.
“Zeke…” My heart squeezed, but before I said something I’d regret, I scooped a massive spoonful of ice cream and shoved it in my mouth, wincing as the cold immediately gave me a brain freeze. “Crap.”
“Who taught you how to eat ice cream?” Zeke rumbled, and then he was in front of me. “Open.”
My jaw dropped without a second thought, and the next thing I knew, the flat of his thumb was pressed to the roof of my mouth. I didn’t know if it was the pressure or the heat of his finger, but almost instantly the pain began to subside.
And almost equally as instantly the entire energy in the room changed.
