Tears blur my vision. I wipe them away angrily.
Me:Please. Just give me some space. I need to think.
A long pause. Then:
Carter:Okay. But I’m here if you need me. Always.
Me:I know.
I set the phone down and curl up on the couch, pulling a blanket around myself.
My home is too quiet. Too empty. Too full of everything I’m trying not to feel.
I kissed Carter Storm in a parking garage.
I fell for him despite every rule I set for myself.
And now I’m paying the price.
But as I sit there, replaying that kiss in my head, the way his hands felt on my face, the way he looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered, I realize something.
I don’t regret it.
Not the kiss. Not the feelings. Not any of it.
Even knowing what it would cost, I’d do it all over again.
And that terrifies me more than anything else.
Chapter Twelve
Carter
Three days.
That’s how long I last before I break.
Three days of watching Olivia from across the practice facility, never close enough to touch. Three days of seeing her professional mask slide back into place, all sharp edges and careful distance. Three days of text messages that say everything and nothing.
Me:How are you holding up?
Olivia:Fine. You?
Me:Missing you.
Olivia:Carter…
Me:I know. Just saying it anyway.
On the fourth day, I snap.
We’re at a team event, some charity gala Mark’s been planning for months. Black tie. Press everywhere. The kind of thing where Olivia and I are expected to be professional, distant, appropriate.
I watch her work the room. She’s stunning in a floor-length black dress that hugs every curve, hair swept up, diamond earrings catching the light. She’s smiling, shaking hands, doing her job.
But I see the cracks. The way her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes. The tension in her shoulders. The way she keeps glancing at her phone as though she’s expecting bad news.
I’m standing with Derek and Tank, nursing a whiskey I haven’t touched, when she walks past. Our eyes meet for a fraction of a second. Something passes between us, heat, longing, frustration.
