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“Yeah, you were,” Holt said.
She stayed rooted in place. “I didn’t mean—” She looked away as if the right words were a struggle to find. Finally, she collected herself. “I love you.”
He folded his arms over his chest. “I love you too.” But behind that was all the hurt she’d caused him.
“I just needed—” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Never mind.” When she looked at him again, there was determination in her gaze. “I’m not speaking toheranymore.”
He stared at her. “Only time will prove that.”
“I swear I didn’t tell her about the wedding,” she said insistently, but immediately snapped her mouth shut when she realized she’d raised her voice. She cleared her throat. “I know I’m the reason for our problems.”
Holt tried to cover the shock on his face, but I didn’t miss it. “I said my fair share of awful things too.”
With that, there seemed to be some sort of unspoken understanding between them. Maybe it didn't seem like much, but from what I knew of Marlow, those few words were huge.
Holt and Marlow’s relationship wasn’t perfect. How could it be? But I hoped they could move forward and grow from this point.
If there was anyone who understood how Marlow had been so consumed by her mother’s words, it was me.
Maybe she was working on forgiving herself too, because that was the place to start, something I’d worked out in the last few weeks myself through a court-appointed psychologist. I wasn’t sure I’d ever let go of the guilt of those victims’ lives, but I could understand that I didn’t pull the trigger. I had no true concept of what evil could have possessed a man like Kyle to do what he did.
Marlow would eventually forgive herself too. I hoped.
After a moment, she finally spoke.
“Heard you were in the market for a receptionist.” She glanced down at Blake. “How about two for the price of one?”
Epilogue
Holt
Later that night . . .
She stepped fully clothedinto my old shower and turned the knob. Cold spray hit her in the face. She spluttered and shut off the water.
“Holt!”
I poked my head in the door. “Told you it worked.”
