Dianne tips her head back and forth, considering. “That could be why. You’re responding to him. Though eventually, you’re going to need to be strong enough to bring it up on your own, if it’s something you feel he should know.”

“He deserves the full story,” I say with more conviction than I feel.

She nods as if this were her assessment, too. “Sometimes, when we’re dealing with something alone, we do a lot of work, and we feel really great about it. But when we try to see it through someone else’s eyes, it can be like holding up a mirror when you’re under fluorescent lights. It shows all the imperfections.”

“That is an oddly specific metaphor.”

She shrugs. “I’m not the writer here. My point is that you’re starting to let people in again. That’s amazing progress. There are bound to be some growing pains.”

“Person,” I correct her. “I’ve let one person in.”

“And your circle has doubled,” she points out.

I’d be offended if it weren’t true. Since it is, all I can do is nod.

“Be gentle with yourself, Scarlett. Everything will happen in time. And when that time comes, you need to remember that you’re strong enough to work through it.”

The only problem is that I’m not only concerned for myself. Now that I have Ryan again, I’m worried about him, too. And us.

Chapter 26

Ryan

“What’s going on with you?” Casey suddenly appears at my office door. Or maybe he’s been standing there for a while. Honestly, I have no idea. I’ve been so consumed by Scarlett’s words on my screen that I’ve lost track of the outside world.

I blink a few times and push my glasses up on my forehead to rub my dry, screen-tired eyes.

“What do you mean?” I hedge, though I have a good idea what he’s asking me about.

Casey takes that as permission to enter my office, and he folds himself into one of the chairs facing my desk. With a few forceful blinks, I try to make myself transition out of the fictional world Scarlett has created and back into the land of the living. If he’s sitting, this is going to take a while.

“I haven’t seen you that engrossed in something for a long time.” He smirks as he crosses an ankle over his knee and settles in.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had something to be engrossed in,” I fire back.

“Mm-hmm.” He nods as if that was also what he was thinking but doesn’t say anything else.

“Did you need something?” I ask. “Because if you didn’t, I’m really swamped.”

Casey uses his chin to indicate my computer screen. “What are you working on?”