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She nods.
Her phone buzzes.
Glancing down, she takes a look at the screen. “That’s work. I need to go.”
“Bye, Aunt Lana!” Steph waves.
Lana presses a kiss to her forehead. “Bye, sweetie. Be good for Uncle Brogan.”
“I will.”
Lana leaves and Steph wheels her chair over to me.
I heft her up and put her in the bed. “Did you enjoy hanging out with your friends, Pumpkin?”
“Uncle Brogan, have you asked Elizabeth out yet?”
“I’ve been a little busy.”
“With me?” She stares sadly at her pale hands.
“With a lot of things.”
“Uncle Brogan, did you know that someone had to die for me to get this heart?”
“Who told you that?”
“The internet.”
“I told Lana to stop giving you her phone.”
She frowns. “Listen. This is important.”
“I’m listening, Pumpkin.”
“Knowing that person gave me something so important makes me want to live so badly. Because I’m not just living for me. I’m living for them too. I have to do my best because of the precious heart they gave me.”
“That’s a nice thought, Steph.” I slide the tray of soup over to her. “You want some of this?”
She pushes the soup away and takes my hand. “Uncle Brogan, Elizabeth gave her heart to you. That’s a very big deal.” She stares at me with all the soberness in the world. “You accepted it, so you need to take responsibility for it. You need to take care of it so it’s happy and healthy and lasts for a very long time. You can’t let it be hurt.”
I ruffle her hair. “When did you get so wise?”
“I was always this way,” she says proudly.
I press a kiss to her forehead and insist, “Now eat your soup.”
While Steph digs in, I think about what she said.
There’s a hole in my chest where my heart should be. It’s in the palms of a beautiful woman with golden-brown skin and the sweetest lips.
The problem is… she doesn’t even realize what she’s holding.
And I’m too scared of love to make her any wiser.
Thirty-Two
Elizabeth
