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time when memories rose, forcing her to remember. She dropped her hands to her stomach. To remember things she didn’t want to. She should have stayed home and avoided everyone like she normally did.
    She felt Bare’s gaze on her the entire time she walked away. She made it to the bathroom just in time, getting to the stall and dropping to her knees as the little she’d eaten came back up. Her hands were shaking when she was done, and she crossed to the sink to wash them and rinse her mouth. She splashed water on her face and took a few breaths.
    Five years. It seemed like forever but not long enough. The door pushed open, and she wasn’t surprised to see Bare standing there.
    “Keep any of it down?” he asked then said nothing when she shook her head.
    “I’ll say my apologies to Gilly,” she said.
    “No need,” Bare told her. “He understands.” He shuffled his feet.
    “We need to talk.” They said the words at the same time, gazes clashing, and Paisley’s heart galloped in her chest. She stood there, bent over the sink while he held open the women’s room door. He stared at her, unspeaking, and she realized they were both waiting for the other to speak. Paisley knew he would remain closed mouthed until she broke the silence. He might look like a huge badass, but he was a gentleman down to his core.
    “I’m sorry,” she said.
    “You have nothing to be sorry for,” Bare told her.
    “I do. Bare, I do,” she said the words again when he shook his head in denial. “Everything you said this morning was so right. I’ve been selfish.”
    “You’re not selfish,” Bare countered. “You’re grieving.”
    “ Still ,” she said with a sad smile, emphasizing the word just as he had earlier.
    “Christ,” he muttered. “I was out of line saying that shit to you. I’m sorry.”
    “For being honest with me?” she asked. “Someone had to.”
    He glanced around and held a hand out to her. “Feel like getting out of here? Fresh air, sun, and we can talk. Preferably not in the ladies’ room.”
    She smiled and took his hand. “That sounds good.”
    Gilly was gone when they walked back through the bar. Bare said nothing, his hand on her back, guiding her across the wood floor to the door then out into the sunlight. She turned her head up, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply. She blinked them open when he urged her on. Her breath caught as they strolled around the back and she saw the pond.
    “This is nice,” she said.
    “Gilly claims he bought the building just to get the pond,” Bare told her.
    She agreed with Gilly on the decision to purchase. The pond was beautiful and inviting. On a different day, when she’d been a different person, she might have thrown caution to the wind and dove straight in. The sound of the water was relaxing.
    Bare didn’t say anything else as they walked around the pond. She took a few minutes to gather her thoughts. Other than her journals and a brief conversation with her dad five years ago, she’d never really spoken of the day her life had changed. Her dad had urged counseling, but Paisley had shied away from it, not feeling comfortable with the idea.
    “We were getting married,” she said. “That weekend. I know the wedding was planned, but Lance and I were going to Vegas. We were excited, laughing and happy—we were so happy. Then there was a knock at the door. Lance sent me upstairs to pack while he sent away whoever it was.”
    Bare’s hand rubbed across her back, offering comfort as she returned to that night.
    “I heard a noise and stepped out to holler for him. That’s when I saw the intruder. He was dressed all in black.” Her heartbeat increased as fear filled her. She could still see the knife, still feel it piercing her skin and taking away everything.
    “He can’t hurt you again,” Bare said.
    She shrugged her shoulders. “No, he can’t,” she agreed, though not for the same reasons she knew Bare meant.
    “One moment, I was laughing and