“Because you love me.”

“I do,” he said, nipping her bottom lip. “A lot.”

She smiled against his mouth. “And you want to keep me safe.”

He pulled back, his eyes intense. “I will keep you safe. There’s no question.”

Embry wrapped her arms around his neck as she captured his lips in a sweet kiss. “Thank you.”

The door flew open, interrupting their moment, and Embry’s mother stood in the doorway with her arms crossed. “Really, Embry. I know it’s an awkward situation of my doing, but I thought you would handle it like an adult. Not sit outside making out with your boyfriend.”

“That’s not what—”

“It doesn’t matter,” her mother said. “The Stowes just left.”

Embry approached her mother, Luke close behind. “Then I think we should talk, Mom.”

Embry gripped Luke’s hand as she recounted the details of her relationship with Jack for her parents. She gathered strength from his presence. She wasn’t sure she could have even faced them without him. Her heart broke as she watched her parents react. Her mother’s eyes gleamed with unshed tears. Her father sat stock-still and silent. The fire popped and crackled as she waited for either of them to say something. Anything.

Her mother broke the silence first. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” she whispered. “I invited him into our home and back into your life. I never knew …”

Embry shook her head. “It was inevitable. He would’ve found out I was back eventually.”

“I just wish you would’ve let us in. You can tell us anything, Embry, you know that,” her mother said, her voice cracking.

Her father’s jaw was working overtime and making Embry nervous. “Dad?” she asked meekly.

He sucked in a breath and shook his head. “I can’t believe that little shit had the nerve to set foot in this house.”

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I should’ve spoken up a long time ago.”

“None of this is your fault. Do you understand that?” Her father’s eyes bore into hers with such intensity she was forced to look away. “Look at me, Embry.”

She looked back into her father’s eyes and wanted to weep at the pain she saw.

“You were a baby when you met him. He took advantage of you, of all of us. I wish you would’ve said something so that we could’ve done something. I should have seen it, should have protected you.”

“You couldn’t have known, Dad.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” her mother asked softly.

A million responses went through her head—all of the reasons she’d stayed quiet for so long—but all she could say was, “I couldn’t.”

“Why, honey?” her mother asked again.

“You loved Jack.” She felt petty for admitting it, but it was true. Her parents had adored him.

He’d used that against her. Who are you going to tell? Your parents love me. They’ll be mad that you messed up the best thing you’ve ever had.

Looking back, she could kick herself for ever believing a word he had said, but he had broken her down to the point that she didn’t trust herself. She ran away to avoid the damage Jack had inflicted, but one thing she had managed was to learn to trust herself again. She knew her worth and would never let someone make her doubt herself again.

“He fooled us,” he mother replied. “No matter what we thought of Jack, honey, we love our daughter more. We would have believed you.”

“I know that now. But the longer I went without telling you, the harder it was to come back to it. I dealt with it the best way I knew how, and I hoped that it would never come up again. I didn’t think that after five years he’d be hell bent on making my life miserable.”

They stayed up talking well past midnight, Luke silently supporting her, holding her hand the entire time. When they wound down for the night, Luke piped up. “I’m going to get Embry an order of protection first thing Monday morning. I know a judge in family court who should be able to help. So far it’s only been phone calls, but who knows if it will escalate.”

Embry yawned, her head falling against Luke’s shoulder.

“Had enough, beautiful?” he asked, his eyes soft.

She nodded.

“It’s been a long day for everyone,” her mom agreed. “Why don’t you kids head to bed?”

Luke stood, pulling Embry up with him. Her father approached, gave Luke a hearty handshake and thanked him for being there for her before pulling her into a crushing hug.

Her mother did the same, giving Luke a goodnight kiss on the cheek. “I’m glad you have each other,” she smiled.

“Thanks, Mom,” Embry said as she hugged her mother.

Luke tucked Embry under his arm as they walked down the hallway to the guest bedrooms.

“Thank you, Luke. I couldn’t have done that without you.”

“Don’t thank me, baby. That was all you.” His lips pressed into her hair. “I’m proud of you.”

They reached their rooms at the end of the hall. Luke stood at the open door, watching Embry pull pajamas from her suitcase.

“Are you coming to bed?” she asked.

Luke blanched. “I should probably stay in the other room, baby. We’re in your parents’ home.”

Embry rolled her eyes and approached him. She tugged on his shirt, pulling him into the room, and closed the door behind him. “You’re going to have to let go of the southern gentleman act for one night.” She smiled up at him. “I need you.”

The following afternoon, Luke and Embry drove into town to do some exploring. They’d spent the morning relaxing at her parents’ house. He made some calls to a few colleagues about the restraining order while Embry caught up on her class assignments. It was a quiet, uneventful day, but Embry felt unsettled. She told herself it was normal after the events of the previous night, but she couldn’t shake the bad feeling.

As they drove through the Hamptons, it hit her why she was so nervous—she hadn’t heard from Jack. She’d expected at least a taunting phone call or two, but she got nothing. That made her more uneasy than his constant harassment. She shared her concerns with Luke, and although he reassured her that Jack had probably been scared off, she knew Jack wasn’t backing down. He was regrouping.

Despite her uneasiness, she was determined to have a nice night with Luke. The tourists crowding the streets of the Hamptons in the summer were nowhere to be found during the off-season. Luke and Embry drove on near-empty roads and walked the quiet streets, window shopping and enjoying each other’s company. Ducking out of the cold, they found a small pub in the basement of a historic restaurant. They shared burgers and beers and chatted like any normal couple. She wrinkled her nose and laughed when he put mustard on his hamburger, and he teased her about her Gators. She valued any time spent with Luke when they didn’t have to pretend to be anything but themselves.

After their burgers, they caught an early movie. They snuggled in the back of the theater, making out like teenagers. It was the perfect night, and just what she needed after all the drama. They were walking back to the Rover when Embry’s phone buzzed. She pulled it from her purse, feeling a mixture of dread and relief when she saw Morgan’s face on the screen—relief that it wasn’t Jack and dread that he remained eerily silent.

“Hey, M,” she said.

“Hey, hooker! What are you two love birds up to?” Morgan said in a sing-song voice. Embry hadn’t yet told her about Jack’s Thanksgiving surprise.

“We had some burgers and beers at Main House and just saw a movie. Where are you guys?”

“The Dock. Come down for a few drinks!” Morgan shouted over the background noise.

The Dock was an upscale bar where they never had to worry about awkward run-ins with people from high school. Embry hadn’t been there in years, but she was tempted to go spend some time with Morgan and Brett. She wanted Brett and Luke to meet.