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“He might sound small-time, but he’s not. Jack’s time line saved me from the accident, but it was so he could use me. For his nefarious purposes.” Forced humor distorted her voice. “Nothing like owing your life to a madman.”
I stopped stretching. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry—”
“Don’t apologize, Hallie, please. I didn’t explain for sympathy; I just like people to know where I’m coming from. Keeps things from getting complicated.”
“Do you still struggle with the depression?”
“It’s manageable,” she confessed. “But I have bad days.”
“Since we’re being honest.” I took the opportunity to lighten things up by morphing my features. First into Lily’s and then into Emerson’s, before restoring my own.
“I just saw … my face … on your face. I might … need to go throw up.”
I laughed. “I promise to never do it again. I’m just saying that I want people to know where I’m coming from, too.”
“We were all shocked when we found out you and Dune were … um, whatever it is that you are.” She took that moment to focus on a pair of Dune’s jeans on my floor.
“Uh … yeah.” I looked up at my ceiling fan.
“Right. Okay. Well. Good, then.” She cleared her throat. “I like you, and I can see why he likes you, too. He’s always been kind and smart, but, Hallie, he’s a different person around you.”
“I didn’t think good relationships were supposed to change people.” I’d never seen one make a person better. Not before I’d met the Hourglass crew.
“Who told you that? That’s their purpose. You make him strong.” She lifted her chin. “Michael does that for me.”
“What was Dune like before?” I’d been dying to ask someone, and Emerson was too honest not to dish.
“A lot like he is now, but less … in control. It’s not that he was out of control at the Hourglass—there just weren’t a lot of opportunities for him to lead. He seems older now.”
“Michael does the leading in Ivy Springs?”
“Yup.” She smiled, and I recognized pride. “He’s good at it.”
“My life has been pretty sheltered. I’ve had to learn how to be strong on my own. Dune is like … a partner. He makes it easier for me to just be.”
“How?”
I frowned.
“You don’t have to explain, unless you want to.”
I couldn’t stop my smile. “I think I do.”
“Well, then.” She dropped down onto the floor and folded her legs into a pretzel shape. “Tell me all about it.”
“It was fun at first, teasing him. But he handled it, and I barely shook him. Well, maybe I did that time I almost flashed him.”
Emerson’s jaw dropped a little.
“I’d only known him for a week, so … anyway. No one’s ever been able to keep up with me. No one’s tried. Then there was Dune, and all that—presence—and then he’s so sweet, especially his—”
“Eyes! I know.” Emerson grinned. “But don’t tell Michael I know.”
“Our secret.” I grinned back at her. I could get used to a girlfriend. “He doesn’t make any demands on me. He listens, pays attention to what I’m actually saying, and responds to that. He’s amazing.”
She had a smug look on her face. “I knew it. I even told Michael.”
“Told him what?”
