His smile turned sad. “Gone. Both of them passed away within months of each other. I guess when two people love each other as much as they did and spend more time together than apart, it’s hard to go one without each other.”

Emma frowned. That was why she didn’t want to fall in love. How could you lose yourself so much to one person that you couldn’t go on living without them? What about Jake? What about the love they had for him? Didn’t that warrant staying ...