Page 42 of Crumbling Truth
I frowned, trying to make sense of that. “What? Why?”
He shifted in his seat to face me and took my chin between his fingers. “When Alex spoke, you went white as a ghost. I thought you were going to pass out in there.”
“I’m fine,” I replied.
“Do you and Alex have some kind of history?” There was a healthy dose of hesitation in his voice and a furrow between his brows.
“Oh,” I mumbled. “No. I’ve seen him around, obviously, but that’s the extent of it. I don’t think we’ve ever had a real conversation.”
Theo was silent for a long moment. “He reminded you of Steve,” he said finally.
I wanted to deny it, but he was too perceptive for his own good. “Yes. A little. It was his tone, I think.”
With a soft sigh, he slid across the seat to wrap me in his arms. I nestled close, surprised to realize just how much I needed it, and he dropped a kiss to the top of my head. It was several minutes before his arms loosened.
I offered a wobbly smile. “It’s fine. Really. Is it always like that with you two?”
“Our relationship is…contentious. He’s holding onto a lot of bitterness from a long time ago.”
For a long, quiet moment, I studied him. Without knowing more about their history, it was impossible to extrapolate from such a brief exchange, but I got the impression Alex wasn’t the only one still nursing old wounds.
I wanted to ask him about it, try to help with whatever had to be going through his head right then, but he spoke before I could think of a way to inquire without him throwing up shields.
“Esther,” he murmured, “I wish you’d let me help you.”
“How?”
The word erupted past my lips, hiding the fact that I was about to say practically the same thing to him. He was so ready to leap into action for my wellbeing—didn’t he care about his own?
For so long, all I wanted was someone to help me, to step into the hellhole that became my daily life and drag me out of there. Now that I was on the other side of it, I was no longer a damsel in distress, but the fact that Theo was so willing to offer assistance and smooth things over for me still nudged at that desperate woman I once was.
My outburst hung between us for a moment, then his palm moved slowly, slowly down to my jaw. With a gentle sweep of his thumb, he stroked my lower lip.
This time, I was sure he felt my swift intake of breath when he said, “Any way you want. Anything you need.”
“I think we should get home and put these groceries away first,” I replied.
So maybe our defenses would stay engaged a little longer—I couldn’t make him open up to me any more than he could dig into my own past trauma without my participation.
He grinned as he slid back into the driver’s seat and buckled his seatbelt. “Whatever you say, sweetness.”
Chapter Seventeen
Theo
Whenwegotbackhome, I hovered while Esther put away her groceries, watching for any sign that she was going to change her mind—or give in to the shuddering panic that had thankfully dissipated while I held her in the truck—and forcing myself not to think about my brother.
Fuck, I wished our reunion hadn’t taken place in front of a full audience, especially one including the woman I was about to romance, but I didn’t want to reflect on how it felt to see my little brother again.
Definitely didn’t want to think about how much he hated me.
As far as Esther was concerned, instead of falling apart, the routine activity only seemed to strengthen her resolve. She lined my three apples up along the countertop, flashed me a saucy grin, and gestured for me to follow her.
As soon as we reached the bedroom, I swept her off her feet with an arm behind her knees and tossed her onto the bed. Her laughter floated around us as I crawled over her. This room was quintessentially Esther, comfortable and cozy and feminine,decorated in a mixture of soft grays and rosy pinks. The curtains boasted stripes of both colors, shot with silver strands that glittered in the light of the setting sun.
“I wish I’d woken up beside you today,” she murmured when I kissed my way along her jaw.
“You made the no sleepover rule,” I said against her throat. “But if you’d like to rescind that one, I think it can be arranged.”
