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She looked up at me, blinking quickly. “Dad said I couldn’t stay with him because his house is in foreclosure.”

My jaw dropped. “What?”

She nodded. “Sounds like it was a case of one thing after another and not being able to catch up or humble himself enough to ask for help before things got dire.”

“Is he declaring bankruptcy?” I asked.

She wrapped her arms around herself and shrugged. “I don’t know.” She looked so small, so worried, holding herself like that. “But I can’t let him lose his house, not when I have the savings to cover it.”

I pulled her in, hugging her. Maggie had the biggest heart. “That’s sweet of you. But what about the salon? Didn’t you need all your savings for your down payment on the loan?”

“I did. I do,” she said.

My stomach sank further. “So it’s his house or your salon? Do you think Rhonda would do rent to own or something like that?”

She shook her head against my chest. “It’s her retirement plan. She put everything she had into that salon and didn’t set any aside for herself. And she needs to get hip surgery. This would delay all that for her. God, I feel awful.”

A tightness in my chest started to form. “What are you going to do?”

She stepped back from me, sitting on the edge of the bed. “I think the only thing I can do is ask Rhonda if she’ll wait another six months or so for me to buy the shop while I try to come up with the money. And hopefully Dad can pay me back once he’s back on his feet.”

“And if she doesn’t agree?” I asked. “Doesn’t it make the joint worse to put off a replacement?”

The blue in her eyes was gray as she took me in, full of unspoken words I probably didn’t want to hear.

“What?” I asked her.

Her eyes traced over my face, like she was trying to remember it. “I can’t stay here without a job.”

“Then I’ll buy you the salon,” I said as I sat by her. “Fuck the land. I have savings too.”

Her eyes were wide. “I wouldn’t let you do that, Rhett. I saw how excited you were about that land. I’d never be the one to take that look away from you.”

I leaned my head against hers. I knew we would have struggles come up that we’d have to face in life, but everything had just been going so well. I hadn’t imagined that things would change so quickly. “But you can’t take yourself away from me either, Maggie.”

She held the back of my neck, kissing me softly. “I love you, Rhett Griffen.”

“We’re gonna figure this out, right?” I asked. “You can’t leave me. Not again.”

But instead of answering, she kissed me again. And again.

I held on to her, hearing her message without any words.

She didn’t know how things would go, so we needed to savor this moment we had with each other. Even if the thought of losing her had my throat tightening in my chest and my eyes stinging with unshed tears, my future unraveling before it even had a chance to begin.

I laid her back on the bed, kissing her and savoring everything about her. The pillowy softness of her lips, the soft scent of her perfume, the way her hair tickled my cheeks as I nipped at her ear, her neck.

The way she held on to my neck and shoulders like if she didn’t, she’d simply float away.

I etched into my memory the feel of her full chest under mine, the softness of her stomach contrasting my hard core.

How, every time I swirled my fingers around her clit, she let out a soft whimper.

Her voice touched every part of my soul as she said, “Rhett, I need you closer.”

Feeling desperate to fulfill her wishes, I undid my pants and slid them off as I crawled over her on the bed. I didn’t bother with a condom, knowing I would be closer with Maggie than I ever had or ever would be with another person.

Her eyes were wide as she looked up at me. “You need a condom.”