Emma stared at her, and then laughed. She laughed so hard she had to sit down on the welcome bench and gasp for air.

“Whatever,” Alison said, clearly entirely insulted. “I’m a delight.”

Emma swiped her tears of mirth. “It’s cute that you think that’s true. But why the alarm? Why not just stick with being your usual ray of sunshine?”

“Fine.” Alison tossed up her hands. “Because I know I’m not a delight, okay? And I’m . . . trying to fix that.”

Alison actually seemed genuinely earnest, and Emma’s smile faded. The bigger surprise was that her heart actually squeezed. “Okay, I think it’s sweet that you’re trying. But . . . your execution might be a tad off.”

Alison made a face that said she was aware.

“We both agreed to this for our own various reasons,” Emma said. “We might as well get used to it.”

“Yeah, but . . . it’s weird, right?”

Emma laughed. “Very. Hey, maybe if we told each other something about ourselves now, as adults.”

“Such as?” Alison asked suspiciously.

“How about we share our weaknesses and strengths? I’ll even go first. My weakness is . . .” She searched her brain. She had so many to choose from. “My old need of being a people pleaser still raises its head when I’m not looking. And also that I don’t want to be a burden. On anyone. Not ever again—which still makes it hard for me to ask for help. And by hard, I mean I’m stubborn and sometimes obnoxious about accepting said help. As for my strengths . . . I think that’s my sunshine nature and the ability to make people feel good.” She smiled, proud of herself.

Alison was frowning.

“Your turn,” Emma nudged.

“My strength is that I never admit my weakness.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Lame. Come on, let’s hear it. Strengths and weaknesses. Or would you rather I say them?”

“Oh, do tell.”

“Your strength is you’re smart as hell and you aren’t afraid to go after what you want. You’re brutally honest.”

“Not exactly flattering, but accurate,” Alison said. “And my weaknesses?”

“Easy. You hide behind a thick armor of sarcasm and cynicism, and that scares people off, which you’re fine with because then you don’t have to deal with them.”

“But not you apparently. I haven’t scared you off.”

Emma smiled. “I’m a product of desperation. I needed you, plain and simple, which sucks for me.” She moved closer, leaning on the counter. “Also, I’m really trying to be cool here, but please tell me something about your uncle.”

“How did you know about him getting hurt anyway?”

Good question. Emma wanted to say never mind, but her need to know that Dale was okay outweighed her pride. “Last night I was with Simon when we heard sirens.”

Alison’s brow nearly vanished into her hairline. “Define ‘with.’”

Oh boy. “We were on the roof when we heard sirens. Simon ran downstairs, so I’m not sure, but from what I can gather, Dale fell.”

“The roof?”

“Stargazing.”

“Uh-huh,” Alison said.

“I think Simon feels incredibly guilty about it.”

Alison blew out a huge breath. “It’s not Simon who should feel guilty. I’m the one who put Dale to bed and then left him.” She looked away. “It’s what I’ve done before, but even though he promised, I should’ve stayed longer to make sure he was really asleep. He’s wily. I should’ve known—”

“You couldn’t have known,” Emma said, putting her hand over Alison’s. “It’s a tough situation. I’m sure neither Simon nor Dale blames you—”

Alison pulled her hand free, stood up, and closed her laptop. “I’m due at Armstrong Properties. I’m covering for Simon today. He had meetings on top of meetings, so I’ve gotta go, but I’ll come back later.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got this.”

Alison’s frown faded. “Thanks.”

EMMA WORKED UNTIL it was time for her late-afternoon PT appointment. She got a little anxious as she parked in the PT clinic lot, hoping last night hadn’t ruined everything between her and Simon.

“Love it that you’re always on time,” Kelly said when Emma signed in. “I’m all ready for you in the back.”

Emma’s heart thumped heavily. “No Simon today?”

Kelly paused and cocked her head. “I’m sorry. I was under the impression that you wanted to work with a different PT from now on.”

Emma felt herself flush. Okay, yes, she’d “fired” Simon, but she hadn’t been serious. “It’s just a silly misunderstanding. I’d really like to see him, if that’s possible.”

Kelly’s pleasant smile never faded as she nodded and eyed the schedule screen. “As of right now, he’s no longer working regular days, just on a client-by-client basis when he can fit them in.”

Emma’s stomach dropped. His dad must be really bad for Simon to give up scheduled days.

Or . . . maybe he’d just given up her. “Can I get fitted in?”

“I’ll leave him a message to get back to you on that.”

Okay, then. She followed Kelly to the back and they got to work. Kelly was doing leg stretches on Emma when she said, “I consider Simon one of my favorite people. He values privacy and loyalty above everything. So I’m really speaking out of turn here when I say . . . don’t give up on him too soon.”

Their gazes met, and Kelly gave a little smile. “You dig him, right?”

Emma wrestled with a response, but couldn’t figure out how to answer.

“You do,” Kelly said into Emma’s silence.

Emma grimaced.

“I’m sorry.” Kelly lifted her hands. “I know, I should just keep my mouth shut, but he’s been through a tough time. I knew when I first realized how attracted he was to you that he’d find a way to keep his distance.”

“I think he’s just got a lot on his plate right now.”

“Yeah. Listen . . .” Kelly moved closer and lowered her voice. “I’m going to give you some advice you didn’t ask for. If he means anything to you, don’t let him get away with not making time for the two of you, okay? He’s bullheaded. He does what he thinks is right over what he might need or want, and he never takes the easy road. Not for himself anyway. In his past relationships with women, he let them come last in the lineup, myself included.”