So yeah, I’d done a lot of thinking about a lot of things these past four days. College. Painting. The bar. Reece. Henry. Charlie. As corny as it sounded, I felt like I was finally waking up and getting a second chance.

The bed shifted and a hard body curled around me, a warm and bare chest against my back, legs pressed against the backs of mine. An arm carefully settled around my waist.

A second chance when it came to a lot of things.

“Stop messing with your lip,” Reece ordered, voice gruff from sleep. His hand flattened against my lower stomach.

My finger stilled. “I’m not.”

He chuckled softly, stirring the hair around my neck. “Uh-­huh. You been awake long?”

I lowered my hand to where his rested, placing mine atop his. His hand was so much larger than mine. “A ­couple of hours, I think.”

Reece didn’t say anything for a long moment. “Talk to me, babe.”

Wiggling my fingers in between his, I held his hand. Reece had been great the last four days. Staying with me while I’d been checked over at the hospital. Talking my parents and brothers off the cliff when they arrived. Being there for me when I finally freaked out and had a wee mental breakdown the night after the attack. Distracting me when I closed my eyes and saw those photos of me—­of us—­because those photos had been creepy and nothing like the portraits I’d done of Reece. Oh man, nothing like that at all. He’d been my raft in a churning ocean, but I knew it hadn’t been easy for him. None of this had been.

Easing onto my back, I turned my head and met his gaze. “I’m okay, honestly. Just been thinking.” With my free hand, I reached up and placed my hand on his cheek. Stubble grazed my palm. “What about you?”

“Just woke up.”

I would’ve rolled my eyes if my right eye still didn’t feel funky. I had one hell of a shiner. “That’s not what I meant.”

He held my gaze for a moment and then closed his eyes. Under my palm, his jaw tensed, and concern pinged around inside me. He hadn’t really talked about himself during these four days. It had been the twenty-­four-­hour Roxy channel.

I was about to straddle him and force him to speak when he finally did. “I saw that bastard yesterday.”

I didn’t have to guess who he was referring to. “You went to the jail?” Reece had to work since he’d taken time off when Charlie had passed away.