Page 169

I sighed. One mistake. Just one, and here I was getting yet another lecture. I decided that honesty would probably serve me best.

“The friend I was with asked me what was the worst that could happen. And I realized that the worst had happened, so I thought why not? It was empowering.”

“Empowering? More like reckless. That’s a dangerous path to go down, Emily. Did you know what you were taking?”

“Mandy.”

“You know you could have had an adverse reaction—coma, paralysis, even death.”

“But that’s not the worst thing that can happen,” I said simply.

“I can only imagine your pain, Emily. But what about Dylan? If he lost you? He’s already suffered a significant loss too.”

I frowned at him.

That’s not the same at all.

Is it?

“I think he might be grateful.” I regretted the words as soon as I said them.

Luke frowned. “I don’t think you mean that.”

I shook my head, contrite. “The worst thing is to lose the people that love you,” I whispered, and my grief surfaced, vicious and unwelcome. Drawing my legs up onto the chair, I hugged my knees to me.

“How do you think Dylan feels about your behavior?”

I looked down at my knees. “He’s very angry.”

“Do you think that’s an appropriate response?”

I shrugged. “I think it’s an overreacting response, like yours.”

“Given that he’s a doctor and knows the risks involved, do you really think he’s overreacting?”

“Is this what he asked you to say?”

“No. I’m trying to understand you, Emily, not him.”

“He was mean to me this morning. He’s not been mean to me before,” I whispered. “I find that hard to deal with.”

“I can understand why you find that difficult. Why do you think he was mean?” Luke asked, his voice more gentle.

“Because he’s angry.”

“And where do you think that anger stems from?”

“I know what you’re trying to do. It stems from him caring, blah blah blah. It doesn’t mean he can be horrid to me.” I folded my arms tighter around my knees and bit my lip to kill the urge to cry.

Luke smiled. “You know, Emily, that’s the first typical teenage answer you’ve given me.”

“Don’t patronize me!” How dare he?

“I’m sorry. I apologize,” he said quickly and looked chastened. “Dylan’s at a loss. He’s terrified something is going to happen to you. He loves you very much. I know it’s hard to see beyond your grief at the moment, but you might want to spare him a thought.”

I glared at him while I tried to absorb this information. Dylan cared about me, this I knew—but he’d said something last night that nagged from the edge of my memory. Hell, last night was cloudy.

“He also mentioned your trip to France.”