Liam’s throat tightened, his thoughts a mess, but the only thing that found its way out was the simplest. “Is this place yours?”
Jacob’s eyes didn’t waver. “Short-term lease. My realtor pulled it this morning, someone backed out last minute. Timing worked out.” His mouth twisted, a shadow of a smile thatnever reached his eyes. “Hollywood’s full of houses like this. Furnished, clean, just waiting for someone to live in them.”
Liam stepped further into the sterile stillness, gaze flicking across the unscuffed furniture and gleaming floors. “It looks empty.”
“It is.”
The next word out of his mouth was the only one that mattered. “Why?”
Jacob didn’t move, didn’t blink. “I left.”
The words landed like a blow. Liam stopped mid-step, his mind registering the syllables without fully absorbing them. “You… what?”
“Caroline questioned me,” Jacob said, his tone stripped bare. “At the party. I think she already knew. Or at least suspected. Either way, I couldn’t lie.”
Liam’s heart jolted hard in his chest. “You told her?”
A slow nod. “Yeah.”
“And then what?”
“I packed a bag and walked out.”
Liam’s gaze shifted to the duffel by the door, the proof of it all. “You just… left?”
“I couldn’t stay after that.”
For a moment Liam could only stand there, his thoughts splitting in two directions. One part of him wanted to close the distance, to reach for Jacob and hold on; another wanted to turn and bolt, to get away before the ground gave out beneath him completely. Emma’s hand on her belly flickered through his mind.
“Are you okay?” Liam asked instead, his voice raw.
Jacob exhaled, the sound bitter. “No.”
Liam moved before he could second-guess it, as if gravity had already decided for him. He crossed the space and dropped onto the couch, so close their bodies touched from hip to shoulder.His hand curled around Jacob’s arm before finding his hand. Touch was the only anchor he had left, and Jacob was the only direction he knew how to go.
After a long moment Jacob spoke again. “I didn’t mean for her to find out like that. I never planned for any of this.”
Liam nodded slowly. He didn’t need to be told, he already knew. “I figured.”
Jacob turned his head toward him, red-rimmed eyes dragging over his face. “I always know what to do,” he murmured, voice so low it barely carried. “Right now I don’t.”
The ache in Liam’s chest deepened until it was hard to breathe. “Neither do I.”
He let his head rest on Jacob’s shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent. Jacob’s hand curled at the back of his neck, holding him there. It was quiet proof that he wanted Liam close, and for a while, that was all either of them needed.
Liam closed his eyes. In that fleeting moment he wasn’t split open, wasn’t fractured between two lives. It was just this—the solid weight of Jacob’s shoulder beneath his cheek and the familiar warmth against his skin. The reprieve didn’t last. Guilt seeped back in like smoke under a door, thick and impossible to hold off.
Eventually, Liam pulled back just enough to meet his eyes. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Jacob shook his head, gaze heavy. “I don’t have words for any of it yet. I just… needed to see you.”
Liam nodded, his hand lingering. “I’m not going anywhere. When you’re ready to talk, I’ll listen.”
He squeezed Jacob’s hand, thumb brushing over the cool metal of Jacob’s wedding band. For a moment he just traced the gold circle, before letting his gaze drop to his own hand. His ring caught in the sunlight, glinting up at him—a silent reminder of everything waiting for him at home.
His breath wavered. “The baby’s coming soon,” he said softly. “I don’t know what to do.” His voice broke on the last word.
Jacob’s hand tightened slightly.
