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She was on the beach, walking on the wet sand. She liked the way it squished between her toes—her perfectly tanned toes that went with her perfectly tanned body. For the first time in her life, she actually enjoyed wearing a bikini. Even though she’d always been on the lean side, she’d always felt ridiculously overexposed wearing less than a one-piece. But not today. Today, she loved it.

The sky was a gorgeous blue, bluer than she’d ever seen it in Kentucky. The warm air blew off the water and lifted her straight fall of dark hair while the sun warmed her face. This, she thought, this was heaven. There were no cranky research subjects and no whiny undergrads to teach. She could sleep in the sun or swim in the warm water without any obligations preventing her from doing so.

Life was good.

“Geneva.”

“Not now,” she murmured, heading towards a hut that advertised the best smoothies on the boardwalk.

“Come on, Geneva.”

She shook her head and tried to shrug off the hand on her shoulder. “No. Leave me alone.”

Suddenly, she found herself beneath the water, unable to suck in oxygen, and, just as suddenly, she could breathe again. She took deep, gasping breaths and dragged her wet hair out of her eyes and blinked, confused, at Brian.

“Shit, shit, shit! Brian!” Geneva scrambled to slide lower under the cover of bubbles in the tub. She must have fallen asleep, but still… “What the hell are you doing in my bathroom?”

He leaned against the doorway, a safe distance away, and grinned. She looked so flustered and pretty sitting in her bathtub, half-covered with frothy bubbles. “You didn’t answer the doorbell, so I used the spare key under that flowerpot. I went searching for you, and here you are.”

“Here I am,” she repeated. “It still doesn’t mean you can stand here and, and…Oh, jeez.”

Brian couldn’t help it, he had to laugh at the red creeping up her neck and onto her face. “Relax, Geneva. I didn’t see anything I haven’t seen before. You were properly covered. I had to dunk you to wake you up, though. You were dead to the world, it seemed like.”

“Yeah, well.” She pointed to the towel on a rack near him. “Hand me that, would you? It’s the least you could do after destroying my lovely dream about no work, no stress.”

He handed her the towel and watched as she held it up as a curtain before climbing out of the tub and wrapping it more fully around her. God, she was adorable. “Where were you?”

“On a beach. Definitely not Kentucky, though. Anywhere but here with the snow and cold.” Geneva ducked into the walk-in closet at one end of the bathroom. “I think the cold stresses me out, too.”

“Then we’ll get you warmed up, so you won’t be as stressed.” He turned to head to the kitchen. “I’ll meet you downstairs in the kitchen.”

He heard her muttered assent and smiled to himself. She was one of the smartest women he knew, but she was definitely not smart when it came to taking care of herself. He’d known her for years and had always worried that she’d fall flat on her face one day. When she’d met David, he’d been relieved because it meant that there would be someone around to prevent her from crashing.

But David was gone, and Geneva was alone. Too alone.

Brian dumped out the pot of soup he’d found on the stove and shook his head. That was no meal for a woman who was constantly on the go. Honestly, he thought, she needed a keeper. That was reaffirmed when he found the cupboards empty—except for a box of raisins.

“Geneva, what the hell is wrong with you? Raisins and tomato soup?” He sighed before turning to unwrap what he’d brought with him. “We’ll have to go grocery shopping to get you real food. Not rabbit food.”

She’d lost weight, too, he remembered. Three months ago, she’d weighed at least fifteen pounds more, and she certainly couldn’t afford to take off any more pounds. Heck, the woman had always been ridiculously thin. “Genetics,” she’d always told everyone, which was true. But still.

Now that he was back in town, he was going to drag her out of the pit she’d dug herself into. Even if he had to tie her down to make her eat and sleep.

Then again, the beach didn’t sound like such a bad idea, either. Setting the silverware he held onto the table, he stared out the window with a small smile on his face and wondered.

Geneva followed the smell from the top of the stairs to the kitchen. It was definitely not tomato soup. Whatever it was, though, had her stomach growling loudly. Embarrassed, she clapped her hands over her belly in a feeble attempt to shut it up. Of course, it didn’t work.

She found Brian standing next to her kitchen table. Her very full kitchen table.

“What’s all this?”

“Hmm?” He turned to her, nearly forgetting that he’d been standing in her kitchen. “Feeling better?”

She rubbed her fingers over her wet hair and shrugged. “Better. But I’m wondering what all of this is.”

She was watching him with those big eyes, he thought, as if she were trying to solve a puzzle. She’d always been good at those, but not this time, he mused. Still, Geneva was cute to look at, now, as she stood wearing a shirt that hung to her knees, sweatpants, and large fuzzy socks. “You look good, Geneva.”

“That’s not the answer I’m looking for.”

Brian pulled out a chair. “It’s the only one you’re going to get. Take it or leave it. But you will sit and eat.”

“I don’t like you very much.” But she sat anyway.

He’d brought over Chinese food from her favorite restaurant and fully intended to shove it down her throat if she didn’t do it herself. Everything from pot stickers, to dumplings and lo mein decorated her kitchen table. She studied it, as though it were an experiment, he thought. Why that fascinated him, he didn’t know.

He was perverse like that.

Minutes later, she scooped up sticky rice and chicken with chopsticks and glanced over at him as he poked at a dumpling. “Is there something wrong with it?”

“It’s rubbery. Dumplings should not jiggle like that. Where do they come off calling this Chinese?” He frowned and stabbed the chopsticks through the dumpling.

Geneva couldn’t control the laughter. “Brian, darling. You’ve been spending too much time living the high life, haven’t you? You’re turning into a snob.” She grinned at his sound of protest. “Besides, food in China is obviously going to be better than what they make here. But at least they’re trying.”

He glared at her then shrugged. “It’s okay. I’ll just try something else.”

“You’re just too cute.”

“I prefer the term handsome to cute. I’m a grown man, thank you very much.” He grabbed the box of noodles.

She supposed it had been good of him to come over tonight. Who knows what she might have been doing if he hadn’t decided to distract her? She would probably have graded papers and gone to bed. It was nearly crunch time with finals, and she really did need to hand back papers and such. There were a hundred lab reports and thirty extra credit papers. If she spent three hours on the papers and three on the lab reports, she could…

She blinked. She shouldn’t be thinking about work when Brian had shown up on her doorstep after months of being away. This was quality time to spend with him.

“So, how’s work going?” she asked.

Brian shrugged. “It’s going. Construction on the resort in Athens is almost done, which is why I can actually sit here in front of you. I didn’t need to be there anymore.” He smiled. “You should come see it some time. It’s gorgeous, grand, and feels like a palace.”

“Don’t all Littrell hotels and resorts?” she wondered but smiled slightly. “Maybe. One day.”

“Winter break’s coming up,” he reminded her. “You could come with me.”

She set her empty plate down. “You’re going back so soon?”

“For the opening. There’s going to be a huge party, and all of the famous Greek personalities are going to be there. Plus, I think there should be a few American ones there, too. Come with me, Geneva.” He put on a big, convincing smile.

She shook her head. “You sound like Chloe. Brian, I’m okay here. I’m doing work that I love even when it drives me crazy. I’ve got Luna and my students. I’m not shutting myself off.”

“You’re not living either.” His eyes were a deep, serious blue. “David wouldn’t want this for you.”

David. His ghost was one she lived with everyday. “Sometimes, I wish I’d been in the car with him,” she murmured.

“Geneva.”

“We’d be together if I’d gone with him to the club instead of insisting that I needed to do work. I would have been there when the car went off the cliff.” Geneva didn’t know why she was telling him this, but she couldn’t seem to stop. “Some days, I think…”

“What? What do you think?” His voice wavered, but she didn’t take notice. He clenched his hands together under the table until his knuckles were white.

She sighed and looked into his concerned face. “Sometimes, the work gets to be too much, the teaching gets tiresome. I hate being the one who has to have all the right answers. I don’t want the responsibility of knowing everything. Sometimes, I can hear myself screaming inside, wanting it to just all be over.” She had to look away from that gut-wrenching worried gaze. “I’m scared, Brian.”

He wanted to hold her. Just grab onto her and hold on. Never let go. “What are you scared of, baby?” he asked softly.

“Failing. I can’t fail, Bri, but I get closer to that edge every day. I couldn’t bear it if I failed.” She shut her eyes. “I don’t feel that passion I used to for my work. I don’t care if one of my students asks me a question that I can’t answer. I just don’t care. Period.”

They lapsed into a silence for a few moments. Brian took one steadying breath, then another. She’d had such passion for her work on toddlers’ cognition and would talk about it at any given moment. Her interest had stemmed from her mother’s family’s history of childhood depression. Geneva had managed to escape the debilitating effects of that problem, but now…

She was nowhere near as okay as he’d thought she would be. He hadn’t realized how truly on the edge David’s death had pushed her. He knew Chloe, being Chloe, wouldn’t have recognized the deep, desperate darkness that Geneva had fallen into. And he’d left her alone. He’d left one of his dearest friends alone to fight her demons on her own. In his mind’s eye, he could practically see her standing, teetering on a cliff. And it was suddenly too much for him.

“Geneva.” His hand brushed over her cheek gently, as though he were afraid she would break. “I can’t see you like this. I can’t see you not believing in yourself. It hurts.”

Her eyes opened and pain-filled hazel eyes met his worried ones. “I don’t know how to believe in myself or anything anymore, Brian. I just want to let the darkness take over. Just slide into the deep oblivion of nothingness.”

Swallowing hard, he reached out and gripped her hands in his. “Geneva, I believe in you. When the darkness starts to move in, remember that. I believe in you.”

She nodded and let her eyes shut again. She was tired, oh so tired. It felt as though she hadn’t slept in years, instead of hours. “Bri, I’m tired. I think I just want to go to bed.”

“Then I’ll help you up and tuck you in,” he said gently, brushing hair off her forehead. Not waiting for her response, he scooped her off her feet and carried her up to her bedroom.

Tugging aside the sheets and blankets, he laid her down gently and watched as her eyes fluttered as she fought to stay awake. “Brian, I can’t sleep yet. I’ve got dozens of things to grade. I can’t waste time sleeping.”

Brian knelt next to the bed and took her hand in his, twining their fingers together. “Turn it off for one night, baby. It’ll wait until tomorrow. Just…turn it off.”

Her eyelids flickered again before they opened once more to lock eyes with his. “Brian.”

“Geneva.” He pressed his lips to her palm. “Close your eyes and dream.”

“Stay,” she whispered. “Stay for a while.” When she moved further away from the edge to make space for him. “I don’t want to be alone.”

If it was in his power, he vowed as he climbed into her bed, she’d never be alone again. “You’re not alone, Geneva. Never.” His arms slid around her and brought her close. Her breathing was already slowing.

“Because you’re here,” she whispered sleepily.

Brian’s arms tightened before he let them relax. “No, baby,” he murmured to the quiet room. She was asleep. “It’s because I love you.”