Page 94 of Beyond the Badge: Nox

“You probably wouldn’t have shown up if your job wasn’t threatened,” she countered.

“You’d be wrong.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because I only came here to see you.”Shit.Did that just tumble out?

An audible breath slipped from her lips as her hands dropped to her side and her head tilted. “You came here to see me?” she repeated softly.

Her reaction made him immediately stop regretting his slip-up. “I certainly didn’t show up tonight to hear Jack’s honeymoon story for the third time.”

Her perfectly shaped eyebrows knitted together. “Jack?”

“Isn’t that his name?”

She smothered her laugh with a hand. “No. It’s?—“

“I don’t care what it is.” He grabbed the hand from her mouth and pulled it into his chest, effectively pulling her closer. “Liyah?” he murmured.

“Yes?” she whispered.

He stared down into her deep brown eyes. “I’m sorry about the other night,” came out on a breath.

“I’m not.”

“It couldn’t have been great for you.”

“I came, didn’t I?”

“That’s not how I normally…” He wasn’t sure how to finish that. “Fuck” sounded too crude. “Make love” was far from what it was.

The truth was, it had been embarrassingly awkward.

“When’s the last time anything has been ‘normal’ for you?”

Jesus, this woman certainly knew how to peel away his layers. “Too long,” he admitted.

“It takes a while to get back to what you think is normal.” She reached up and cupped his face. “It also takes someone willing to work at it.”

He would love to get back to normal. His normal, anyway. “You’re a good motivator.”

“That’s the point of our group. For us all to motivate each other.”

“No.” He shook his head and gently squeezed her fingers. “Not the group. You.”

“You’re giving me too much credit. Like I said, you have to be willing to change and it seems as though you’re now ready for that.”

“You mean I’ve reached my limit of self-pity.”

“No, you’re tired of being sad about a situation that will never change because it can’t. But no matter what you do, you can’t move on until you accept that situation. Are you ready?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“No, you don’t. Unless you want to continue to wallow in your grief, anger and bitterness. Let’s not forget… make everyone around you continue to worry.”

“I like that you’re bold enough to smack me in the face with the truth. You don’t tiptoe around me, worried that I’ll spiral even lower than I already am.”

“Someone needs to be upfront with you. Normally that would be your counselor, but, again, you’re not sharing shit with him or her. Instead, you’re holding everything inside.”

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