Two weeks later

Sweet merciful hell. What was Tate thinking?

It was the day of my coffee date with Donovan. I’d decided to make it even less romantic by scheduling during my lunch hour, and arrived at the coffee shop five minutes early. Then proceeded to wait an additional twenty.

When he finally showed up, I spotted him instantly. He was impossible to miss; in fact, he caught almost everyone in the coffee shop’s eyes. He was maybe five-foot-eight, and every single inch of him was bulging with muscles. Don’t get me wrong, I liked muscular guys, but the dude’s arms were so big he couldn’t rest them casually at his side. His thighs were as thick as his waist, and he had no neck whatsoever.

He was apologetic for making me wait, claiming a training session had run long. Deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt, I brushed off his late arrival and tried my best not to hold it against him. At least he’d apologized right?

Unfortunately it only went downhill from there when he looked at my blueberry strudel muffin and white mocha and informed me that I really shouldn’t consume so many calories in one meal. Asshole. And to prove his dedication to fitness and healthy eating, he even brought his own nasty-looking green protein shake—made with kale and avocado, blech—to the coffee shop.

“So… you run your own gym? That must be pretty cool.”

“I don’t run it,” he stated condescendingly. “I own it. Huge difference. I mean, sure, I work too. My schedule’s crazy busy with people wanting me to train them personally, but I don’t blame them. I’m the best personal trainer in northern Cali.”

Dear Lord, this guy is full of himself.

Listening to him rant on and on about how wonderful he was made me want to scream.

“You read Men’s Fitness?”

“Oh, uh… not real—”

“They totally came to interview me,” he carried on, interrupting me. “Heard of my reputation and the reputation of my gym, and they did a whole feature on me. You should check it out. It’s very informative. Like, the best article you could read.” He lifted his arm to run a hand through the over-gelled hair on his pinhead, and I was surprised it even reached.

Camden had been right. This guy was a total douche.

Before I had a chance to run screaming out of the coffee shop, my cell phone rang. I breathed a sigh of relief at my brother’s name on the screen, knowing it was the fake emergency call I’d demanded he make during the date so I had an excuse to bail without looking like a total ass.

“Hello?”

“You know this is really pathetic, right?” Will asked.

“Oh, yes. Sorry. I’m on my lunch hour, but….”

“What are we, in third grade? I can’t believe I agreed to this.”

“Oh no! I didn’t realize! Of course. Yes, I’m leaving now.”

“Pathetic, baby girl. Totally pathetic.”

“Yes, I understand. Uh-huh. I agree. Will really is a terrible employee.”

“Oh, I’m gonna get you back for—”

“Sure thing. Be right there.”

I hung up on my brother and quickly stowed my phone away. “I’m so sorry,” I told Donovan as I stood from my chair. “That was work. There’s an emergency and I have to go. But it was lovely meeting you.” Before he could say a word, I grabbed my calorie-packed muffin and coffee and took off like a bat out of hell. “Have a good day,” I called over my shoulder as I rushed out of the coffee shop.

I slowed down about a block away from the building and spent the rest of my walk back to the garage enjoying the hell out of that muffin.

* * *

“You should be ashamed of yourself,” Will said later that afternoon when he came waltzing into my office.

“You weren’t there,” I declared. “You didn’t see this guy, or hear him. My God! For someone with such a small head, it was inflated so much I was scared it would pop.”

He looked at me like I was full of it, rolling his eyes before stating, “Oh come on. He couldn’t have been that bad.”

“Really?” I scoffed. “He looked like a Jersey Shore reject who’s taken every steroid on the planet. He brought his own protein shake to lunch, for Christ’s sake.”

That finally got the reaction I was looking for. “He didn’t.”

“He did! And he wore a tank with the armholes cut down his sides that said ‘Rip This.’”

Will’s deep, raucous laughter sounded through my office. “Oh shit! That’s great.”

I glared at his amusement to my horrible date. “So glad I could entertain you, jackass. What are you still doing here, anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be picking up that Chevelle in Redding? You should’ve been on the road a few hours ago.”

“Got held up. Someone brought in a Honda earlier for an oil change, twenty thousand miles too late. Chick did more damage to her car than she realized. I’m heading out in about thirty. I’ll be back later tonight.”

“Wait, tonight?” That was a four-hour drive one way. I wasn’t too thrilled with the idea of him making it a round trip in one go. “That’ll put you back in San Fran well past midnight. Why can’t you go tomorrow?”

“Because the dude’s movin’ to Ohio. Today’s the last chance for me to get the car.”

I didn’t like that either. “Well can you crash in Redding for the night? I’m not real big on you making that drive so late, especially in a tow truck.”

“Aw, look at you worryin’ about me. It’s cute.”

“I’m serious,” I replied, my voice bland and expression blank.

He gave me a reassuring look. “I’ll be fine, baby girl. You forget, I’m a thousand times better a driver than you. You’ve got nothin’ to worry about.”

There was no point in arguing with my big brother. If he wanted to do something, he’d do it no matter how many people argued with him. “Fine, but please stay safe.”

“I will.”

“Promise me.”

Moving closer, Will bent at the waist and pressed a kiss against my forehead. “I promise, baby girl. Now I gotta get on the road if I wanna make it in time. Love you always and forever.”

“Always and forever, Will. Even though you’re a pain in my ass sometimes.”

His smile shone brightly as he stood tall and began backing away. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.” Then he turned and exited the office.

* * *

The high-pitched trill of my cell phone yanked me from a dead sleep, and my heart rate instantly kicked up.

That old saying that a phone call in the middle of the night never meant good things played through my mind as I flicked on my bedside light and snatched my phone from the nightstand.

“Dad? What’s wrong?” I asked the instant I had the phone to my ear.

“Sweetheart.” One word, just one ravaged, choked word nearly made my heart stop. And what he said next only made it worse. “I need you to get to the UCSF Med Center, honey. As soon as possible. It’s Will.”

And just like that, my world stopped.

* * *

As the sun came up over the horizon, turning the sky outside the hospital windows pale pinks and oranges, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I’d remember that night as the worst in my life.

Worse than that night with Mace in my bedroom so many years ago.

Worse than being beaten by Daniel.

Worse than anything.

And hours later, I’d been proved right.

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” the doctor said after delivering the news that Will had died during surgery. “We did everything we could, but the damage was just too substantial.”

My big brother.

My protector.

My best friend.

He was gone. Just like that.

When I’d laid my head on the pillow hours and hours ago, my life had been great. Now it was nothing but shadows and darkness.

The only thing that kept my mother from crumbling to the floor was my father. Her loud, guttural sobs hit me with the force of a wrecking ball, each one doing more damage than the last until I felt like I might crumble myself.

It couldn’t be true. It had to be some kind of goddamn nightmare.

I watched my parents, my mother crying so hard her body shook with the force, my dad—my strong, manly dad—clinging to her with all his might as silent tears poured from his eyes.

“Wake up,” I whispered to myself, squeezing my eyes closed and clenching my hands into tight, painful fists. “Wake up, wake up, wake up.”

“Sweetheart.” My father’s voice forced me back into reality. “Sweetheart, come here.”

I opened my eyes and looked at him, his large frame blurry thanks to the wet gathering in them. “No. I need to wake up, Daddy. I need to wake up.”

His breath stuttered and his chest visibly shook. “Oh, baby. Come here.”

“I can’t. I have to wake up. Why won’t I wake up?”

He and Mom grabbed me before I could hit the floor, clutching me against them as I screamed out my anguish right there in the middle of the cold waiting room. I don’t know how long we held each other, the truth of the situation sinking into my bones.

It was supposed to be me and Will, always and forever. I was smart enough to realize that forever didn’t exist, not really, but we were supposed to have so much longer than just twenty-six years.

Always and forever.

He was only thirty-one. So young. Too young.

Always and forever.

But now he was gone. And I was all alone.