Chapter 80

“I wish with all my heart I could stay here and share the experience, Jefferson. I wish I could sit beside you at the table, but I don’t think I belong here forever, wherever here is.”

“No. You have more living to do. More healing. You can love again, if you let down your guard.”

“Easier said than done.” I felt I might cry.

“Remember how you were before your Tom took your joy and your self-assurance. I’ve already seen glimpses of that man,” Jefferson claimed. “Though I can tell your heart is broken, it’s not unfixable.”

“I think that’s why I act like a child sometimes. I got with Tom as a teenager, right after getting away from a man who treated me the same. The last time I felt childlike, free, and self-assured—maybe lovable—was never.”

“Patrick feels you are all of those things and more.” Jefferson brushed the hair from my eyes. “The way he looks at you tells me.”

“If it’s anything like the way Calvin looks at you…”