I came to an abrupt stop and glanced over my shoulder.“Fine.I didn’t have much to unpack.”
“And your mother?”he asked, setting the container down on the counter.“How’s she doing?”
“Better.”I fully faced him.“She still gets confused sometimes, but the doctor says it’ll pass.”
“Good.”
The word felt strained, and I hated how we’d become strangers in all the spaces that once felt charged and alive.
“I’m not sure if I ever properly thanked you,” I said, trying to fill the silence, if for no other reason than to remain in his presence a little longer.
It was a strange thought, considering I wanted to put as much distance between us as possible earlier.
But was thatreallywhat I wanted?
Or did I just want to see how far I could push him?Prove to myself hewasan asshole keeping me prisoner.
Instead, he let me go.
Helistened.
I’d forgotten what that felt like.
“For what you did,” I continued.“Getting her out of that place.And…” I hesitated, searching for the right words.“Taking care of Schaffer.”
His jaw tensed.“It was nothing.”
I shook my head, taking a step toward him.“It was everything to me.Having her back, the woman she used to be.It’s the greatest gift anyone’s ever given me.So…thank you.”
He looked at me for a long moment, something shifting in his expression.“Despite what you may think,” he said quietly, “or what my previous actions made you believe, I do care about you, Ariana.”
He took a step closer.Then another.
Each one chipped away at my resolve.
The familiar pull I’d tried so hard to suppress roared to life, everything I shouldn’t still crave returning to the surface.The memory of his touch.His breath.His voice.
“More than I’ve cared about anyone in a very long time.”His throat worked in a hard swallow.“Maybe ever.”
Time seemed to stand still as he leaned in, hesitation etched in every movement.As if giving me a chance to stop him.
Or, more accurately, a choice.
I should have stepped back.Reminded myself who he was.What he’d done.
But all I could think about was the way his voice could strip my defenses bare, the way his touch once made me feel safe and seen in a way no one else ever had.
So I remained perfectly still as he inched closer and closer, his lips gently brushing against mine.
The kiss was barely there, just a whisper of contact.But it was enough to unravel me.
My breath caught, my pulse stuttered.Every nerve in my body seemed to awaken at once, remembering what it felt like to want him.To need him.
Tochoosehim.
But before I had a chance to deepen it, he pulled back.
“You should get some sleep.”
