I reach out and put my hand on top of his.

He looks up in surprise.

“When my mom died,” I begin, “I was eight. My dad cracked. He broke apart, and he was never able to put himself back together. Not even for me. He didn’t speak more than a hundred words in nearly twenty years. Not even on the day he died. I told him I loved him and he…he said, ‘Marlena.’ That was my mom’s name. And that was it. He died. So, I guess I’m saying, I don’t know how it was with your dad, but I know how it feels to want a parent’s love and not have it. I won’t judge.”

He shifts. Slowly he puts his arm around me and scoots me close.

“I fought him the first year. He banned play, toys, friends, video games, anything ‘fun.’ Anything outside of math and accounting that I showed an interest in, he removed.” He says the word “removed” with a horrible finality.

“He didn’t let you have friends?”

Will looks at me.

“No.”

“How lonely.”

Will shrugs.

“So that day when I asked you to be my friend and your dad came around the corner?” I ask.

Will gives a sharp nod and I ache to hold him.

“What about your dog?” Dogs are a boy’s best friend.

“Riley was a distraction. He had him put down.”

I stare at Will in mute horror. He doesn’t look at me.

Finally he says, “I work because it’s what I do. It’s what I was trained to do and it’s what I’m good at. It surprised the hell out of my dad when I became so good at it that I forced him out of business when I turned eighteen.”

“Good,” I say with vicious satisfaction.

Will gives me a small smile. “Then once he was out of my life, no longer pushing me, I realized I like what I do. I love it. He may have gone at it the wrong way, but he put me on the right path.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I spent a few years as a teenager in therapy. It helped me realize I was angry with my father. I found the takeover of the company very cathartic.”

He grins and I smile back.

But something’s bothering me. “What about friends? Or hobbies or love? Don’t you want those?” For years I never thought that Will had human enough emotions to desire those things, but now…I want him to have them.

Will turns toward me. I suddenly realize we’re sitting close, our faces are inches apart. His arm is around my back. His fingers reach up and run through my loose hair. I shiver and my legs clench in response.

“Jessie?”

“Yes?”

“Can I please kiss you?”