Sunday. Bluhm's Home, Malibu, CA.
IT WASN'T EVEN ONE and Lumen was already emotionally exhausted.
She'd been nervous about Max coming over, and yet part of her weirdly wanted to see him. She'd lain awake last night thinking through his list and everything he'd said over lunch. Her resentment was gone. She'd known back then he was in his own spiral sucking her down with him. The whole time she'd simply wanted to be a priority to him instead of another building block to his perfect life.
Now?
Seeing how he'd changed?
She was happy for him. But it also highlighted the ways in which she'd ignored her own wounds. In a way, he'd moved beyond her in the healing process and now here she was, always behind.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Nabanita asked.
Lumen glanced at her.
They didn't have the normal bodyguard-client relationship. She did try her best to maintain those boundaries, but Nabanita saw each person under her roof as family. There was no fighting it.