Chapter 45

The hospital is like every other: clinical, white and blue, sterile halls and rooms, and the pungent odor of chemicals with a dingy taint in the air. Sophie is holding my hand as we walk, and she looks so noticeably young and afraid. My gut instinct is to haul her close to my side and place a protective arm around her shoulders, making me smile. Who knew I was maternal? I do precisely that and meet no resistance from her. Thanks to his overly familiar, hands-on way of life, Jake has turned me into an expressive person like him, but I’m not annoyed by it.

Does he see me this way? Is this why he’s so hands-on?

Seeing glimpses of unsure, scared Emma under the mask, he strongly wants to protect me. The thought warms me inside, and I miss him so severely that it aches in the depths of my stomach.

Sophie seems to relax in my embrace as we walk in companionable silence. We may have only just met, but we both sense a deep, instant connection I’ve never felt with anyone els