Come over.

The text comes in early, just past nine in the morning on Sunday. Summer didn’t have much to say when she called yesterday. She was vague, distant.

I run a hand through my hair. I was dreaming when the phone buzzed. Something about a hospital. I couldn’t find her. It was fucking terrible.

Right now?

Right now.

I throw myself out of bed and feel around for the prosthetic. My leg still burns from yesterday. I worked a couple overtime hours at Killion. It’s my last week at the place, but I need all the money I can get. My skin paid the price.

I shove my leg into it and take a flannel shirt from the end of the bed. If Summer wants me over there, I’ll go. My gut twists into a cold, heavy knot.

This can’t be good news.

* * *

It’s frigid, freezing, and Summer is bundled up in a hoodie and thick sweatpants when I get to her apartment. It’s silent and gray inside, reflecting the cloudy day. She doesn’t say anything as I step inside.

“Whitney’s coming back for brunch,” she says finally, once the door’s locked behind us.

“Okay.” Whitney’s one of those people who is so fucking enthusiastic, it’s exhausting to be around her. Summer loves her.

“I’m going to tell her what’s happening.”

“That’s good,” I say carefully. “I think you should.”

She looks up at me, defiance written on her face. “I also think we should decide what we’re going to do.”

“About the baby?”

“About us.”

“Sunny—”

“Don’t say my name like that,” she says sharply. “I got up at the asscrack of dawn to get back here and talk to you about this in person. It was snowy.”

I stifle a laugh. She looks so pissed about the snow, but it’s not really about the snow. It can’t be.

“I know you hate driving in the snow, so I appreciate it.”

“Well, I appreciate knowing what’s going to happen.”

I put a hand on the line of her jaw and tilt her face up toward mine. “Summer.”

“Yeah?”

“What is it you want to talk about? I’ll talk about anything you want.”

Her mouth presses into a thin line. “I told my parents we were seeing each other.”

“We are.” I grin in spite of myself. “We’ve seen a lot of each other.”

That’s when I see it—the fear in her eyes, and the hope. “What are—” She clears her throat. “What are your plans, then?”

She’s not asking about the baby. I’ve promised her we’re in it together when it comes to the baby. She’s asking about something else entirely.

It’s a rush of emotion, a storm cloud breaking apart over me so powerfully that the pain in my leg pulses to match it.

I can’t really be with her…but I want to.

I want her to be mine so much that I’m willing to put her in harm’s way. I shouldn’t fucking do that.

No. The thought is loud and clear. You’re protecting her. This is the best way to protect her, and you.

“I hope you know how—” I’m lost for words, and Summer’s eyes fill with tears. She starts to turn away and I catch her by the elbow. “Sunny, that’s not it.”

“What is it, then?”

“I was hopeless without you.”

Her eyes widen.

“I was fucking hopeless. I’m—” I gesture at my leg. “I’m…fucking broken.”

“You’re not,” she protests.

“I didn’t see any way out of a shitty existence. But when I saw you at that office—” I shake my head. This is getting sappy as fuck, and I don’t care. “I felt hopeful for the first time in a long time.”

She raises one eyebrow. “Is that why you tried to avoid me?”

There it is—that dread. “I tried to avoid you because I’m a risk.”

She scoffs.

“No. My life is a risk. I have things from my past that—that aren’t resolved.”

“Another woman?” Her voice cracks on the word.

“No. Nothing like that.” A solution is dawning in my mind. Why the hell didn’t I think of it before? Oh, because I was wallowing in the pain. Always the pain. Every day, every night. “I’m just warning you, Sunny, that I’ve been around some rough people.”

“I don’t care,” she says, defiance lighting up her face.

“They might not be done with me yet.”

“I’ll protect you,” she says, and laughs.

“But I want to be with you.”

Her shoulders slump with relief. “And not because I’m pregnant?”

“Oh, Jesus, Sunny, I wanted to be with you years ago.”

She pouts. “Why didn’t you?”

“There were mitigating circumstances.”

“Wes,” she says instantly. “That asshole.”

“He might have had a point.”

“He’s never had a point in his life.” Summer’s face goes red. “He’s always been wrong about you.”

I take her in my arms and wait. She looks up into my eyes and her body goes still and calm. Trusting. “I want you to make the best choice for you.”

“I want you to realize I’m an adult woman.”

I laugh. “Trust me. I know you’re an adult woman.” My cock jumps at the thought of her naked body stretched out on the sheets beneath me. “But if it’s too dangerous—”

“I want to be with you, Day.” She swallows hard. “Please. If you don’t want the same thing, tell me now.”

“Hey, Summer,” I say casually, like we’re walking down the hall in our old high school.

“What?”

“Will you be my girlfriend?”

“I don’t know,” she says, and then giggles. It’s the fucking cutest thing I’ve ever seen. “I might be too dangerous for you to—”

I silence her with a kiss. Her lips are warm and soft and willing, and I flick my tongue between them, testing. She opens her mouth and lets me in. By the time I release her, she’s panting. “Are we together now, then?”

“Fuck yes,” I say.

Summer gives me a wicked look. “Then make me yours.”