I hadn’t had a girls’ night out in ages and I felt the need for a good stiff drink or two. At least it was Friday and I could be a slug over the weekend, which would probably be a necessity Sunday morning if I partied too hard Saturday night. I was dragging when I got to work, which wasn’t a good omen for the rest of the day. “It’s just you and me now,” he said, as if he’d read my mind. His thumb brushed over the back of my hand. “You did?” I couldn’t hide my surprise at learning he’d kept his regular schedule. “And mine.” But we were still sleeping apart from each other. Reaching for his hand, I gripped it tightly. But I also didn’t want to be insulated from bad things. There’s no one who loves you who wouldn’t do whatever they could to shield you from that.”Īnd that was really hard for me to deal with, because I couldn’t deny that I was glad I hadn’t known about Nathan until after he was dead. “I was there when you were told Nathan was in New York. His eyes were soft and shadowed, but the set of his jaw was resolute. “Don’t you dare make excuses-for yourself or for her.”

I shot Gideon a look that warned him not to push me. My shoulders sagged with disappointment and frustration. I killed the call, then sent a text to my mom: We need to talk. “You owe me,” I told him, knowing just how I was going to collect. “You won’t hear me arguing,” Clancy said gruffly. His arch look told me he got the message.

Entwined with you