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Leaning over, she touched her finger to his lips “You have nothing to apologize for”

He looked like he was going to say ue-joining promise of a kiss And then he walked her up to her front door, made small talk with her sister, collected his son so tenderly the boy didn’t stir in his sleep and was gone

Lacey spent the night wondering how ht had happened really had or if she’d read too h by the wine that she’d only felt as though she’d actually walked on cloud nine

And knew that until she had a chance to talk to Je to anyone Levi wasn’t going to be with histhe next twenty-four hours

She had a little ti out

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

JEM CALLED TRESSA Thursday on his way hoo that it was best to be proactive with her

He kneas vulnerability behind her crazy words, her need to try to control those she cared about Her own little piece of the world

She’d been abused from the time she was a toddler Her parents had withheld love anytime she didn’t ularly, locked in the laundry room for a couple of days at a tiarette once But the worst, for her, was the emotional starvation

He figured that was partially what made her so prone to drama She had too much stored up inside of her A lifetime of emotion that had had no outlet

And now that she was no longer held captive, now that she was free, she had a desperate need to do all she could to keep her world the way she thought it should be

He also knew that if he called her, she’d calm down And it was best for Levi, for his overall development, if the mother who loved him, and whom he loved, was calm

“Are you going out with her again tonight?” That didn’t bode well

“Do you want to talk or do you want e was clear, too He wasn’t going to go through a replay of the night before

“I want to talk”