I opened my mouth to say yes. To lie, to hide how I felt because it was irrational. Because admitting the truth would hurt.

I wanted to say yes, reassure him that I was fine. But with Luke searching my eyes for the truth, I couldn’t tell him anything but the truth he sought. “I don’t want to change the house, Luke. I don’t want the wallpaper gone, and I don’t want the kitchen to be different. I don’t want any of it to be different. Because if it’s different, I won’t remember. I’ll forget everything. I’ll forget her.” Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, the words gone, cut off by the squeeze of my throat.

The lines of his face softened, his brows drawing together. His hands, so warm and strong, framed my face, tilting it up so our eyes were locked.

“I’m sorry,” he said gently. “I’m so sorry, Tess. When your dad said … well, I just thought …” He took a breath and let it out slow. “It sounded like he wanted a fresh start, and I didn’t even take a minute to consider you might not want the same. If I had, I’d have known better. I’d have asked what you wanted before telling you all the ways I’d rip your home apart.”

“It’s not your fault,” I assured him, leaning into his palm. “I think Dad does want a fresh start, and I’d never stand in the way of that. This is his home. She was just as important to him as she was to me. So if this is what he wants, I’ll do it. I just don’t want to.” Tears fell—stupid, heavy, fat tears that I didn’t want any more than crown molding in my living room. I tried to look down.

But he held my face where it was. “Tess, let me make you a promise.” He waited to make sure I was listening, his face somber and sincere. “I promise you, if I end up helping do this, I will not erase your mother from your home. There are ways to keep things and change them. You’re not going to lose her. I’ll promise you that over everything.”

I nodded, my face twisted up and a sob lodged in my throat, one I couldn’t swallow, no matter how hard I tried. And Luke pressed a kiss to my forehead before wrapping me up in the safety of his arms, shifting his weight to rock me.

He let me cry as his promise sank in. I knew without a doubt that he’d uphold it with all his power.

And for the first time, I wished with all my heart that I could keep Luke Bennet for my own.

14

Just the Truth

TESS

Two weeks flew by in a blur of flowers.

Bouquets and arrangements. Window installments. The greenhouse. Buckets and buckets of flowers in every color. I dreamed of the feel of stems in my hand, the scent so overwhelming, I could still smell it when I woke.