Page 34 of Protect Me

“Was it?”

I lower the bottle to the table.“It had to be,” I whisper.

“Why?”

Aside from the fact that I’ve never had a serious relationship?That I am afraid of losing people she loved?“I have no time in my life for someone who needs my attention.”I am a workaholic and enjoy that aspect of my life.

Tate shrugs.“Neither does he.And yet I have a hunch he’d be happy to spend what little free time he does have with you.”

I swallow hard.“Did Shane actually say that?”I hate the hope in my voice.

Tate laughs at my obvious interest.“He didn’t have to.He’s been short-tempered and a pain in the ass.Very unlike himself.Just like you’ve been down.Unlike yourself.”

“I’ve been out of work,” I argue as my lame excuse.I don’t even believe it myself.

He groans.“You two getting together has been a long time coming.You’ve always liked him.God knows I don’t want specifics about your time with him, but you haven’t been yourself since you came home.Don’t you think you owe it to yourself to find out if you two could actually be a couple?”

Shane and me.A couple?

I really haven’t given it any thought, have pushed all possibilities out of my mind, because aside from the obvious obstacles—our busy lives and jobs—I have a deep, ingrained fear of loss.

“What if something happens to him on the job?If he gets hurt or, God forbid, killed?”I ask, my throat feeling heavy at the prospect.

“Hey.”He reaches across the table and grabs my hand.“We lost Mom and Dad, but we have each other.And you can’t live every day waiting to lose the people you care about,” he says, understanding like I knew he would.“Besides, what if something happened and you two weren’t together?Wouldn’t you regret not taking advantage of the time you could have had?”

I purse my lips in a pout.“Just when did you get so smart?”I ask my big brother.

He snickers at the question.“I’ve always been intelligent.You just never liked to give me credit.So.Are you going to take my advice and go for it?”he asks.

I don’t know if it is as simple as he makes it out to be.I’ll have to be the one to approach Shane and risk putting my heart out there for him to crush if he doesn’t want the same thing.

I shiver at the very scary prospect.But isn’t it scarier to really let him go?

“I’ll think about it,” I promise, knowing I won’t be able to concentrate on anything else.

***

Shane

My mood matchesmy appearance.Foul.I am exhausted since wrapping up my latest case last night and spending hours calming a hysterical client.All I want to do is go home, shower, crawl into bed, and not come out for a solid week.Because my mood has been shit long before this past assignment.Since walking out of Talia’s hospital cubicle, to be exact.But who is counting?

I stare around the empty conference room, waiting for my boss to join me, and I don’t have to wait long.

Ian joins me a few minutes later.“Hey, thanks for coming in,” Ian says.

“What’s up?Because I’m fucking exhausted.”

Ian studies me, his face a mask of disgust.“No wonder clients are complaining about your mood.”

“Are they really?”I ask, suddenly concerned my job is at stake because I haven’t been able to get walking out on Talia out of my mind.

Or how easily she let me go.

I run a hand through my too-long hair and glance at Ian.

“No, not really.Although your coworkers think you’re a pain in the ass.Want to talk about it?”Ian makes a gagging sound following the offer.

I choke back a laugh.“Wouldn’t want you to exert your feminine side.”