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“Noah, please.”

He grimaced against the light I turned on in the hall, but looked up at me with concern. “What’s wrong, Grey?” he asked groggily, rubbing at his eyes. “The house on fire or something?”

“It’s True, I don’t know—” was all he let me get out before he jumped up and raced down the hall to my room in just his boxers.

For a while, I stood in his doorway, my breathing ragged and my heart working overtime. I heard True’s sobs intensify, bleeding into my ears and reminding me that I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing. I didn’t know what she needed. And I let those thoughts get the best of me until quiet replaced the crying. Even then, I didn’t know whether to be relieved or fucking terrified that it was something else now.

My feet carried me back to my room on autopilot, and I stopped at the foot of my bed at what I saw.

Noah had managed to wrap his body around True, enveloping her like a weighted blanket while she cried into his chest.

The talking had stopped. The fighting had stopped. She let him hold her and her defenses weakened little by little.

“It’s okay, mama.” He kissed over her tears and whispered words into her ear I couldn’t hear. But that was the point. They weren’t meant for my ears because he knew they were what True needed. Even half-asleep he knew exactly what she needed and gave it to her without thinking.

I stood there, watching them, until dawn finally broke and a hazy, purple glow settled over the room.

True was sleeping and Noah looked like he was finally getting drowsy again. Every time he blinked, his eyes stayed closed for longer. He still had her wrapped up in him, his arms and legs everywhere she was. It was…intimate. And it felt like I wasn’t supposed to be there. Ignoring the pang in my chest, I walked over to the nightstand, turned off the lamp, and walked into my bathroom.

The first thing I did was snatch off my glasses and cover my face with my hands. “What the fuck was that?” I asked the empty space, rubbing the heel of my hands over my burning eyes. I swore I hadn’t blinked once since I woke up, too busy watching the woman in my bed in fear that I would miss something.

Without my glasses, my reflection was a blur in the mirror. And it was a problem I didn’t rush to correct. Everything was out of focus and it mirrored the thoughts running through my mind. What was wrong with True? And why did helping her come so easily to Noah, but not to me? I bent over the sink and splashed water over my face. The cold spray of the tap washed away some of my lingering panic and I breathed easier after going through the motions of washing my face.

My heart was still pounding too hard, but the outward state of my body felt like mine again.

I put on my glasses, pushing them up my nose and heaved a deep sigh before opening the bathroom door.

True and Noah’s breathing blanketed the room and no other sound came from them. They were sleeping. They were good. I allowed an ounce of relief to work through me before I walked in the closet and got dressed. I didn’t check the jeans I stepped into or the sweater I pulled over my head. As long as I was covered, I didn’t care. I sat down on the ottoman in the center of my closetand realized my hands were shaking when I tried to put on my socks.

“Calm the fuck down, Grey.”

A minute later, I had on my shoes for the day and grabbed a scarf on my way out.

The purple light of dawn had been edged out by orange by the time I was in my room again. Noah was finally asleep and True had her head hidden so deep in his chest that I could barely see her face. With my hands in my pocket, I walked over to the tiny sliver of my king-sized bed they occupied.

My heart rate mellowed out and the tightness left my chest. Finally.

They were okay, I repeated in my head until I believed it. The two people I adored more than myself had each other andthey were okay.

On instinct, I bent over and grazed my lips across True’s hair before doing the same thing to Noah’s temple.

Then I made sure I had my phone and walked out the house after grabbing my keys.

It was the first time in two years I hadn’t made coffee at home or made Noah breakfast, but I needed a minute. Afewminutes.

It was five-thirty in the morning when I pulled off from our yard. Two hours before I usually got to work. But it would be quiet at the resort. And quiet—away from home—was what I needed right now.

“Noah.”

True’s soft arms wrapped around me when her eyes popped open and I was the first thing she saw.

“Morning, Red,” I whispered into her hair.

“Morning, Noah.” She sounded light. And happy. Andokay. On top of that, her first instinct had been to hug me. That was a good sign.

She pulled back and her round cheeks were lifted with a smile.

God, I was so in love with this woman.