“I will.”

Once they disconnected, Harper stared at herself in the mirror. “Is she right?” she asked her troubled reflection. “Will you be better-off without him?”

Although it was tough to see that now, she had to admit Axel hadn’t made her feel very good about herself during the past few years. He blamed her for everything that disappointed or annoyed him. She’d ascribed the difficulties they’d faced to the stress of his career and his high-strung temperament. Challenges were to be expected. But it was more than that. He pointed out the negatives in any situation—and in her.

Trying to fulfill someone like that was exhausting, because there were negatives in every situation. She could never compensate for them all, could never be perfect enough.

Maybe, once her heart healed, she would be happier on her own.

Tobias Richardson had the door cracked open when she arrived, and she could hear music coming from inside.

OneRepublic. Thank God it wasn’t anything by Pulse.

“Hello?” Harper knocked on the doorframe so she wouldn’t inadvertently push the door open before he was ready. She’d already seen an older gentleman, who she figured must be his landlord. Not entirely sure where to go, she’d pulled onto the property and stopped, and he’d come outside. But before he could actually approach her car, she’d noticed the smaller house behind his and realized that had to be where Tobias lived. After all, Tobias had texted her, It’s the second house. So she’d just waved to let the old man know she was fine, and he did the same as she rolled by.

“Hello?” she said again when Tobias didn’t answer. She’d knocked timidly the first time, so it was possible he hadn’t heard her.

She glanced at what she guessed was his truck—an older Ford parked to one side. Her car was behind his, and for a brief second, she was tempted to get back into it. Visiting him at his house suddenly seemed more intimate than she’d imagined, especially when he finally appeared and she could see that he’d just stepped out of the shower. He’d pulled on a pair of faded jeans, but he was toweling off his hair and hadn’t yet put on a shirt.

Axel was so thin he was downright skinny, his entire chest and arms were covered in tattoos and he wore his hair long. He looked like what he was—the quintessential rocker. Tobias, on the other hand, didn’t look like that at all. He had long hair, too, and a couple of tattoos, but he was quite a bit taller than Axel, had broader shoulders and a more athletic build.

“Come in.” He gestured at the table as an invitation to put down the food. “I’ll be with you in a sec. Just need to grab a shirt.”