“Are you suffering a demonic possession?” I demanded. “Blink twice if you’re in there.”
But Jamiestilldidn’t move except to breathe faster, little puffs of smoke that mixed with the air and hung around his head.
This was the last time I was going to see this man. The very last time, I would make sure of it. Because the big, dumb asshole was standing there in his boots and his parka, ten feet tall and three feet wide, staring at me like he was trying to lookthroughme, and part of me, this big huge part of me, just wanted to hurl myself at his feet and cry.
But I wouldn’t.
Because I didsotake responsibility for my life, andfuck him sideways.
“Fuckinggo!” I shouted to the big, white, empty world. “Jesus.” But he stood there like his feet had been frozen in place, and finally I said, “Fine. Then I will.”
I turned back toward my car—which suddenly seemed superior shelter to any involvingJameson Burke—but before I’d taken a single step, Jamie’s hand shot out to grab my wrist.
I nearly dropped the box.
“Hey!Watch it!” I yelled, clutching it more firmly and noticing that the cardboard was beginning to get soggy from the wetness. Was the universe out to ruineverythingI cared about? “Leave me alone.”
“Get in the truck, Parker.”
The words were said in approximately the same tone in which some great emperor conceded his kingdom to a conquering lord, all horrified reluctance, like he was hoping the words would wake him from a nightmare.
Spoiler: I was the nightmare.
“Fuck off,” I said succinctly, stepping away from him. “As you so thoughtfully reminded me, this is my problem. Not yours.”
“Itisyour problem, and now it’s mine too. I’m not leaving you on the side of the road.”
“Uh, yeah, ya are. Because I’m not going—”
“Get in the truck.” Reluctant still, but indignant now, like how dare I refuse? It would have been funny, if I hadn’t been soaking wet and freezing cold.
Actually, I’m lying. It was still funny.
“No.” The look on his face, the heat in his eyes, was enough to keep a guy warm in a blizzard. Possibly.
“You’re being ridiculous.Get in the fucking truck.” The words were a low rumble that made my stomach flip with something that wasn’t fear and was uncomfortably like arousal.
Ack. God.Unacceptable. I refused to be turned on by the guy who’d broken my heart, no matter how good he looked.
“I would not get in your truck if there were half-naked dancers doing the conga in there. Not if Daenerys Targaryen andevery one of her dragonswas coming for me. Not if it was the last truck on the face of the planet! Because if it’s my responsibility, it’s also mychoice,and Ichooseto stay right here.”
There was a terrible pause, like the whole world was hanging on a precipice, and then Jamie smiled so grimly it wasn’t really a smile at all.
“Maybe I’m fucking tired of everything in the universe beingyour choice, Parker. Because you choosewrong.” He grabbed the box out of my hands. “And it’s eleven years five months onSaturday. Dumbass.” He spun in the snow and stalked to his truck.
I gaped after him for half a beat so stunned by his words that I could hardly process his actions. Then I turned, too, and ran after him, following in the footprints he’d created. I tugged at the back of his jacket. “Give that back!”
Jamie had always seemed enormous to me. I’d been small, once upon a time—a bookish little kid with long, thin spider limbs, and more head than body. But that was years ago, goddammit. I’d grown taller since high school. I’d filled out. It should have been physically impossible for him to keep right on walking, to make my sneakersslidein the snow like he was the world’s largest sled dog and I was the sled.
And yet, here we were.
I yanked harder on the tail of his coat and jumped against his back, but my wet shoes had no purchase, and I ended up flailing and grabbing his waist before I fell to my knees again. My backpack, which I’d half forgotten, whacked against my side, throwing me further off balance.
Jamie stumbled forward two paces, holding the box in one hand and catching himself against the driver’s side door with the other.
“Will you quit it?” he yelled over his shoulder. “You’re like a child.”
“Me? You!Youare a child. Give me my box!” I demanded as I scrambled to my feet. I could feel my pulse behind my eyelids. “This is a crime.”
