But it was easier to deal with his agitation, calm the waters, in person.

At least that was how she justified the delay.

“You could have called from the car.”

She perched on the arm of the chair and bent to kiss his forehead. “I thought this merited a face-to-face conversation.”

The twin crevices above his nose deepened. “That doesn’t change the reality of what happened. You know how I feel about your job. Now I have to worry about you being in danger and overworked.”

“I’m not overworked—and Eve’s the one in danger, not me.”

“What if the bomb had been left at the station?”

“It wasn’t—and the building has excellent security. Besides, Eve told Doug the bomb was probably a fake. Did they say anything about that on the news?” If she deflected his focus, it was possible they could avoid another row about her job.

“Yeah. It was a hoax.”

“See? Everything’s fine. I’m fine.” She rose. “Let me get dinner started. You must be hungry.”

He grabbed her hand as she began to move away. “Meg.”

She braced and angled back. “Let’s not argue about this, Steve. Please. I like my job. This was a fluke. I’m not in any danger.”

“I don’t want anything to happen to you. I couldn’t go through that again.”

She gently wiggled her fingers to loosen his taut grip and sank back onto the arm of the chair.

Cut him some slack, Meg. Losing a young wife to cancer had to be devastating. If he’s a bit overprotective, live with it. You might feel the same if the situation was reversed.

“You’re not going to lose me, I promise.” She brushed back the lock of hair that liked to fall forward, onto his brow. “I’m safe at work, and what I do there doesn’t take away from our relationship. You’re gone all day too. And sitting around here moping after the miscarriage wasn’t healthy for me. We agreed a job could help me get back on my feet emotionally.”

Well . . . that wasn’t quite true.

She’d pushed hard for the job, and after tons of cajoling he’d given in—with clear reservations.

But framing it as a mutual decision could help keep this discussion from escalating to an argument.

“You seem to be doing fine now. The job was never intended to be permanent. We also agreed on that.”

“Yes . . . but I’ve only been there six months. After how Eve went to bat for me, I don’t want to walk out and leave everyone in the lurch—or cause an issue for her.”

His jaw hardened. “I don’t care about Eve Reilly. I care about you.”