Chapter 19

Danika stood in the entry of his apartment, wondering if she'd made a mistake coming here. James was a good man, and she knew he would help, but she felt overwhelmed by the emotions flowing through her. She'd fucked up and trusted Ezra, moving to England with him and giving everything up. Now, she was in California with a man she hardly knew. But James wasn't Ezra. James was a good man, or she thought he was.

"It's not much. I can sleep on the couch, and you can take the bed."

She shook her head. "I can't make you sleep on the couch."

"Listen, it's not a hardship. And I get up and leave so early for work it will be a pain for you to be out here."

A part of her wanted to sleep with him, but they didn't really know each other. Sure, they'd had molten hot sex in London, but that had been a one-time thing, and this was different.

She held his gaze. "I don't even know what you do for work. "

Being a SEAL was something he was very proud of, but he didn't tell many people what he did. "I'm in the Navy."

"The military?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it's been good for me."

She bit her lower lip. "I need to get a job. I'll pay rent."

"Don't worry too much about that. I know you'll probably want to work somewhere just to save some money."

"I can pay rent."

He nodded. "I know. I just don't want you to worry too much. The last few years have been tough for you."

"What if he comes for me here? I don't want to keep running, but I can't—" her voice cracked, and James pulled her close. She couldn't stop the tears from the relief pouring through her. It was too early to think Ezra would give up but being here with James made her feel safe.

His arms didn't loosen until she calmed, and the tears slowed. When she leaned back and met his gaze, more tears came. She didn't want to cry like this, but he'd saved her. She hadn't had anyone in her life care about her this much ever.

"I'm sorry." She sniffed, and he handed her a tissue. A weird feeling twisted through her as she blew her nose. Would James think she was weak for crying so much? With Ezra, she'd learned she had to control every emotion, but she wasn't doing a good job of that now.

"There is no reason for you to be sorry. I'm happy to help."

"I don't know what to do. I never should have gotten involved with him. I should have known better. But I thought the little things he was doing weren't that bad. Then I learned how bad it was."

"It's okay. We all make mistakes."

Danika snorted at the idea that being with Ezra was just a mistake. She'd made a terrible miscalculation and done some stupid stuff during the time she trusted him.

James pulled back, his eyes narrowing. "What?"

"You're like this perfect guy who lives this charmed life. I bet you've never made a mistake."

Sharp closed his eyes, and his expression looked haunted. "I've made plenty of mistakes. I've had stuff go terribly wrong." He opened his eyes and met her gaze. "Just because your mistakes are coming back to haunt you doesn't mean other people aren't dealing with the ghosts from their past."

She held his gaze for a long moment before she finally nodded. "What should we do?"

"We're going to eat dinner, then maybe watch some TV before we go to bed."

Danika winced and then bit her lower lip. "You could sleep in the bed with me."

He shook his head, and she looked disappointed. He cupped her cheek and smoothed his thumb over her skin as he held her gaze.

"Not yet. I know we hooked up in London, but neither of us thought that was for real. It was great, but we weren't thinking long-term. If we sleep together here…" He trailed off, not sure he wanted to tell her that if he started a relationship with her, he would want her to stay. She may not be ready for that kind of commitment, and he didn't want to spook her away.

"I get it. We don't know what tomorrow will bring."

He touched her hair and ran her curls between his thumb and forefinger. "I want to get to know you. We were friends, well, more than friends, way back when, but our lives have changed since then."

"We've both changed. That's true. "

"I don't want you thinking I'm some great guy. I have flaws."

She scoffed. His flaws were minimal compared to what she'd done with Ezra. The memories haunted her, and she hoped James never knew exactly all the crap Ezra had made her do because his knowing the truth of it all would destroy her.