Page 73 of Erik's Salvation
When he didn’t respond because of the vise gripping his chest, he thought he saw tears in her eyes. Then she blinked.
He forced softness into his voice. “I can’t change who I am.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Both.”
She cocked her head, the sad tilt of her lips becoming more emphasized. “See, that’s the thing. I think youcanchange, and deep down you know it. You just don’t want to.”
“You think I can change? I havebloodon my hands.” His voice rose so much louder than he meant it to. “So much I can actually feel it most days.”
“Tell me about it then. Let me in. Let me help you.”
“I’m not doing this, Hannah.”
He turned because he couldn’t look at the hurt on her face. The hurthe’dcaused, like the damn asshole he was.
She sighed, and said quietly, “You weren’t doing it anyway.”
They were the last words he heard before her footsteps moved toward the door and she left.
* * *
Hannah scrubbed awaya tear before it could slide down her cheek. She was so mad, and she wanted to hold on to that anger. Keep it from changing into something deeper. Something she didn’t want to name.
God, they’d barely started dating, yet tonighthurt. So much more than it should have. And she knew why. The man had snaked his way to her heart and already started cracking through the protective outer shell.
Pressing her hands to her kitchen counter, she tried to breathe. Brigid’s words had affected her today, and too quickly, she’d let them slip into the relationship she was trying to build with Erik.
She swallowed the avalanche of emotions. Falling apart wasn’t an option. She was stronger than that. Pain and loss had assaulted her before, and she’d come out the other end just fine.
She tugged out her phone and called the only person she wanted to speak to. The second the call to Brigid went to voice mail, she wanted to throw the cell to the floor. Stomp on it and watch it shatter.
A text came through, and she couldn’t stop the flash of hope when Brigid’s name popped up. Then she read the message.
Brigid: I’m sorry. I know I was awful today. I just need some time.
She closed her eyes and let the hurt in her heart settle. She’d call Henry, but there was a chance he was with Brigid.
All right. She needed to pull herself together, get some insulin, and eat something. The last thing she felt like doing was eating, but she didn’t really have a choice.
God, she even wanted to cry about her damn diabetes. She hadn’t done that in a long time. Not that diabetes ever got easier, but she’d been dealing with it most of her life.
She gave herself a shot of insulin, then grabbed a bowl, the Frosted Flakes, and some milk. She was only halfway through her hasty dinner when her phone rang.
She frowned when she saw it was one of the homeowners she’d spoken to today.
She cleared her throat before straightening. “Hi, Allen. How are you?”
“Hi, Hannah.”
Her heart jolted at his tone. “Is everything okay?”
“Actually, we’ve had a change of heart. We’re going to go with another agent.”
No…this couldn’t be happening. Just a couple hours ago, he’d been so happy with her. Excited even. “Why? We had a great talk today and were all set to work together.”
There was an awkward, heavy silence.
