I blinked a few times. “Grae—”
“Trust me,” Grae said. “My brother hasn’t dated for a long time. He clearly has feelings for you, but it’s going to be hard for him to make the jump. The fact that you work for him will only make that tougher. He’s a rule follower.”
Aspen nodded. “You need to tempt him into making the jump.”
I bit my lip hard. “I’m not good at that sort of thing. I don’t have a ton of experience, and—”
Aspen reached over and squeezed my hand. “I don’t think you have to do much. He already looks like he’s ready to crack.”
I averted my gaze as my lips tingled at the memory of the kiss Law and I had shared in the basement.
Aspen jerked upright, nearly sloshing her tea. “Something happened already.”
I buried my face in my hands. “We might’ve kissed.”
Grae let out a hoot. “Then now it’s time to just sit back and watch him crumble.”
I lifted my head. “I don’t want him to crumble. I want him to choose me.”
Grae and Aspen went quiet.
“Hallie,” Aspen said softly. “He is. I see it every time you guys are together.”
Grae set her mug on the coffee table. “He’s been through a lot.”
I nodded. “I know Melody hurt him, and that he blames—”
Grae’s eyes went wide. “He told you about Melody?”
I glanced between her and Aspen. “Yes…should he not have?”
“He’s never even spoken her name to me,” Aspen said, “and we’ve been friends for years. The little bits I know are from Roan.”
Grae grabbed my hand. “That kind of trust and vulnerability? It’s him choosing you.”
My throat burned. I so badly wanted that to be true.
A key sounded in the lock, and the door opened a second later.
“It’s me,” Lawson called as he plugged in the alarm code.
“We should go,” Aspen said, leaning forward to give me a hug. “I’m always here if you need to talk aboutanything.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, a burn lighting behind my eyes. This was the kind of friendship I’d dreamed of but had always felt was just out of reach.
“I am, too,” Grae echoed, giving my arm a squeeze. “Well, except the sexy stuff with my brother because that’s just gross.”
I choked on a laugh. “Fair enough.”
As the women stood, Lawson entered the living room. One look at his face told me something had gone terribly wrong. My skin went clammy, and my blood ran cold.
“We found Adrienne.”
* * *
I hovered in the hallway,listening as Lawson read Charlie a bedtime story. It was such a simple and pure thing. All about the runaway bunny and the shenanigans he got up to. So different from the cloud I knew was hanging over him.
I hadn’t gotten much information about Adrienne before the kids descended. I’d heated up some leftovers for Lawson while Charlie chatted about his day, and Drew and Luke stuck close. There hadn’t been a single moment where I could talk to Lawson alone. But I needed to.
