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“But I don’t know how long that will be, and I don’t want to impose.”

“Don’t worry about that. Take as long as you need.”

Lachlan’s answer came without hesitation—God, he was a good man. I wanted desperately to cross the room and put my arms around him, which only made the next words harder to say.

“But I think I do need some time without talking to you too. I need to know what I think when you aren’t standing in front of me, making it so easy to choose you.”

Lachlan’s eyes closed briefly. “It hurts like hell, Mouse, but if that’s what you need, I’ll give it to you.”

His understanding made the thought of not seeing him hurt even more. I felt selfish for running him out of his own home. But how could either of us know what was real between us, while all of my emotions were so jumbled? His too. It’s not like he hadn’t just been through hell and back. We both just needed a minute to breathe. If what we had together was real, then we’d find our way back to each other. If it wasn’t, then it was never meant to be.

Lacey kept hold of my hand for another moment before she spoke. “There’s someone I think might help, if you’re willing to talk to her. Dr. Maria St. Clair.”

“A therapist?”

“Yes. Maria helped me through a rough stretch when I loved Nik and was still furious about half the things he’d done in the name of protecting me. She never told me whether to stay or to leave. She helped me figure out what I wanted.”

Nik gave Lacey a sheepish grin.

Lacey glanced at him, and despite everything, there was obvious affection between them. “Mafia men have a bad habit of convincing themselves that overprotective and controlling are simply different ways of saying they love you.”

“I have improved,” Nik said.

“You have.” She gave him a small smile. “Mostly because Maria helped me learn how to tell you when you were being an asshole without wondering whether I was wrong for saying it.”

Scarlett laughed under her breath.

“I think I’d like to talk to her,” I said.

“I’ll call her.” Lacey squeezed my fingers. “But that can wait. Come with me for a few minutes.”

I looked at Lachlan before following her.

“I’ll be here,” he said quietly.

I nodded.

The three of us left the office and crossed the penthouse to the guest suite. Once we were inside, she closed the door.

Lacey took me into the bathroom, ran cool water over a washcloth, and handed it to me.

“Here. Before your eyes swell shut.”

I pressed it under my eyes. “I look terrible.”

“You look like you’ve had a hell of a morning, sweetheart. That’s all.”

“That was diplomatic.”

“I’m Southern. We’re trained from birth to make an insult sound congenial.”

Scarlett leaned one shoulder against the counter. “Don’t believe her. Lacey tells people exactly what she thinks.”

“Only when they need to hear it.”

Their easy teasing helped more than I expected. Nothing about my life felt normal, but the two of them treated me as though they knew I’d figure everything out.

I lowered the washcloth and looked at Lacey.