Page 85 of If You Claim Me

“Just let me have them.” Her voice shakes, along with her hand.

“What are you hiding?”

“We need to go.”

“In a minute. They can’t start without us.” I gently flip herhand over, palm up, and slide the remaining bracelets onto her wrist. The inside, by her pulse point, has a few small scabs, but there are also scars, old and not so old. I run my thumb over the raised skin, the ache in my chest impossible to ignore. “Mildred?”

Her eyes slide closed, and her shoulders sag.

“Hey.” I cup her cheek in my palm as fear slithers down my spine. “It’s okay. Talk to me. Tell me what this is.”

“It’s embarrassing,” she whispers.

“I fucked a sandwich, darling. I’m pretty sure I’ve cornered the market on embarrassing.”

She huffs an unsteady laugh.

I lift her wrist and press my lips to the tender skin. “Please talk to me. I’m worried right now, and I just want to keep you safe.”

Her eyes lift, and I see the ghosts she’s so good at hiding lurking in their uneasy depths. “I usually wear a hair tie or scrunchie on my wrist. I snap it to cope with stress. It’s an old habit.”

Understanding twists my stomach. “And you’ve been under a lot of stress lately, because of me.”

“You are not the source of my stress,” she clarifies. “There’s been a lot of change.”

“I’ve tried to make it easier.”

“I know. And I appreciate that.”

But dealing with me and my family hasn’t exactly been a walk in the park. It doesn’t matter who caused the stress, it’s that there’s too much of it for her to handle. “You wear the bracelets to hide the marks.”

She nods. “Some of them are from the group-home kids I grew up with and some are from my foster siblings. The good ones, anyway.”

“You are such a beautiful miracle.” I don’t deserve her, but I pull her into my arms anyway, hugging her tightly.

She returns the embrace, and it feels like she’s comforting meinstead of the other way around. “I’m okay. I promise you don’t have to worry,” she whispers against my throat.

How can I not worry? I cup her face in my palms. “We’re almost through the hard part. Just tonight and the wedding, and then we have a break from all the shit with my family. We’re in this together, okay?”

Her eyes search my face, her bottom lip sliding through her teeth. She nods, and her palm settles against the side of my neck. “We’re in this together.” Mildred leans over and kisses the corner of my mouth.

My phone buzzes a second time.

We rise, and Mildred steps back, but I catch her hand in mine. And she doesn’t let go.

CHAPTER 22

CONNOR

“The presentation is art.” Rix takes a photo of her plate before she picks up her fork. She’s done this with every course. “And everything is so delicious!”

“Aside from your cooking, this is the best meal I’ve ever had,” Flip agrees.

There’s a murmur of agreement from my teammates, who start discussing their favorite foods from Rix.

“Thank God there’s no steak tartare tonight,” I whisper in Mildred’s ear.

She chuckles. “Or ham and cheese sandwiches.”