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Thea looked down, shaking her head. “That’s–”

“I think that’s a good idea,” Hadley interrupted.

Thea looked to Hadley and saw determination mixed with resolution. She was afraid but still willing to step up and help.

“I don’t mind Brett being here. It’d make me feel better about your safety, and it can’t hurt,” Hadley said, lifting her hands in the air.

Thea looked back to Brett who watched her, waiting patiently for her answer.

“I promised to give you space, and I’ll stand by that. You won’t even know I’m here,” Brett promised.

Hadley stepped across the room toward her bedroom. “I’ll let you two decide. Just know I’m okay with it either way.”

“Thanks,” Thea said. Defeat settled heavy on her shoulders. Hadley had opened her home, and Thea had done nothing but disrupt her new friend’s life.

The bedroom door closed quietly behind Hadley, and Thea waited for Brett to speak first. She still didn’t have a clear decision.

“Hadley is honest. If she didn’t want you to be here, she’d say so,” Brett said.

Thea rested her head against the back of the couch. The day had been long, and she hadn’t had the usual nap she’d gotten used to during her hospital stay. She’d also moved around a lot more, and most of her joints and bruises were screaming in protest.

“Okay.” She rolled her head to the side and looked at him. The genuine care in his dark eyes made her want to reach for that safety. “I’d like for you to stay. If you’re sure it’s okay.”

Brett gave her that half smile that sent flutters through her stomach. “I’d love to. And I promise I won’t be moving in. Just sleeping here. I’ll leave all my things at my place.”

“You said you were looking for a new roommate,” she said.

Brett chuckled low. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I wasn’t expecting you either. Or any of this.”

He stared at her for an extra heartbeat. That pause was enough to captivate her.

“I have a few things to wrap up tonight, but I’ll be back shortly.” He stood and checked the fire before stopping at her side. “Do you need anything?”

A new family. A new life. A leg that worked. A lung that wasn’t ready to give out.

Brett. All the things she couldn’t have.

“I’m fine. Thanks.”

“See you soon.”

He left without much noise, and Thea was alone with her thoughts. Had she made the right decision? Would she be able to keep her distance from Brett when he was always helping and doing things for her?

She didn’t want to. Why not give in?

Thea groaned and tossed her head back. Things between them had been messy from the start, but they’d managed to tangle everything into a knot.

She closed her eyes and swallowed past the sting in her throat.

“Lord, what am I doing? Where do I need to go?” she whispered.

Then, the real crux of her desires floated back to the surface.

“Please help my mom. I don’t know anything about cancer or anything else, but I know I love her, and I don’t want to lose her. She’s the only person who ever loved me, and I–”

That wasn’t true. Brett had said he loved her back then, and she’d truly believed him. He’d been loyal to his core–willing to stand beside her in the face of their families.