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"I don’t think so I was azines and newspapers You know, the weekly kind A few organic-focused newsletters picked anic, holistic lifestyle They were very spiritual"

"The squash?"

She nodded "It wasn’t a lot of azine, but still The et by"

"You sell candles?"

"Uh-huh" She choked down a sob "I know I’ood Sirls But now they’re gone and I don’t knohat I’ to do Plus, they just called and said it wasn’t funny and people didn’t get it Goodbye Just like that Not that they were sorry or that they kne hard I worked Do you kno many hours I spent on it each week? A lot"

Kane sat on the sofa and looked at her "I’ht now I had lunch with o They said I avoid normal men because I’ht be right So I’m not just a failure, I’m emotionally stunted, too"

"You’re not a failure You had a setback"

That nearly h "A setback? I have a crushed and broken career Do you know my sister Julie passed the bar exah-powered international law firer sister, is so sh school when she was fifteen and went to UCLA on a full scholarship She got three different degrees in chemistry and physics I don’t even know exactly what they are I think one is in inorganic chemistry, but I don’t even knohat that is How la her to attend IDo you knohat she’s doing now?"

She looked at hies, which was probably just her tears "Do you?"

He shook his head

"She’s taken a couple of years off of school and she’s working as a sign language interpreter for the deaf She specializes in all those science classes she studied She’s giving back Being a good person I can’t even sell a cartoon about squash They’re both so smart and pretty and I don’t fit in with them anymore"

Kane felt as if he’d descended into the seventh level of hell Willow’s obvious pain made him uncomfortable and he had no idea what to say to her The only thing that came to mind was a feeble, "You’re pretty"

"Oh, please You said I was scrawny" She blew her nose and reached for another tissue

He swore silently "You were right," he told her "It was the sweater You have great…" He raised his hands and lowered them "You’re very sexy I wanted you, remember?"

She turned to him, her face swollen and blotchy, her eyes red "Wanted In the past tense For a single night You said that’s all it would be and you were right So I’ain"

Couldn’t she have just shot hirigled, the deeper he sank

"Don’t worry," she said "I don’t want you now I’m not interested in mercy sex"

"I…You…"

She drew in a shaky breath, then more tears poured down her cheeks "Dammit, Kane, you could have made a pass at me just now, so I could have turned you down It’s the polite thing to do"

Then she really began to cry, with body-shaking sobs and harsh breaths He wasn’t just in a foreign country--he’d fallen into a different galaxy He didn’t kno to handle this or her There were probably words that would ht hih his life without ever touching hi about their souls or hearts Willow had been hurt on a fundamental level While he could understand that, he didn’t kno to fix it

Slowly, feeling both aard and stupid, he put his arainst his chest, her face pressing into his shoulder He held herthe sht He could crush her without breaking a sweat Yet in other ways, she was strong and powerful

Her tears da up and down her back He should probably say so, but had no clue as to what, so he stayed silent Eventually the tears slowed and she drew in a deep breath

"I’ht with my sister," she said quietly

"Because it’s on your calendar for this week?"

He couldn’t see her face so he didn’t know if she’d s hory and critical when he shows up He’s not like other fathers He doesn’t stick around for long My mom’s okay with that They’re in love, or at least she loves hih I believe her, but Julie doesn’t She says Mom needs more than a husband who visits once or twice a year, stays for a few o?"

"I don’t know None of us do It’s just what he’s always done The thing is Marina can totally accept hiive him They’re definitive People should be definitive"

He ran his fingers through her long blond hair The cool strands were silky soft and damned erotic "Why?"

This time she chuckled "Because it provides order I’m the middle child, cursed with the ability to see all sides of things It’s annoying forher to look at him Her eyes were the color of the Caribbean Sea Even puffy, she was beautiful Her full mouth called to him Desire flared and he suddenly wanted her with an intensity that hit hiht?"

"I’ with hih It was always enough He needed to distract the the cartoons?" he asked

Instantly her eyes clouded "Of course It was fun and creative Sometimes I didn’t like the pressure of the deadline It was very ood"

"Was it your drea to be a cartoonist?"

Her eyes cleared as she smiled "No It was not my childhood fantasy"

"What was?"

She pulled back and wiped her face with her hand "I’m sorry to break down like this You only wanted help with your cat and I’ve gotten your shirt wet"

She placed her fingertips on the danored the need and instead focused on the woman "You didn’t answer the question"

"I know I just…it’s so s to save lives or maybe the planet I’m not like that"

"Why do you have to be?"

"I don’t, but if I’?"

Her pain made him uncomfortable He wanted to fix the problem, which he couldn’t He barely understood it Wos were a mystery he’d never wanted to solve…until today

"You’ll always be a part of your fa what you wanted to do instead of what you thought you should, you wouldn’t care about being different"