She sees the fractures.
“Kael respects you,” I say suddenly.
She blinks.“What?”
“Back there?When he grabbed your wrist?”I shrug.“He doesn’t touch people.Like, ever.So for him to do that?And then back off when you looked at him?That’s him respecting you.”
Wren pauses beside a parked car, leaning against the cold metal.“It didn’t feel like respect.It felt like...”
“Intensity?”I offer, stepping closer.
Her eyes lift to mine.
Yeah.
Intensity.
“It’s not just him,” she whispers.
My chest tightens.
I lean one hand on the car beside her head, close enough to feel her breath but not close enough to scare her.
“Tell me what it felt like,” I say softly.
She swallows, eyes flicking over my face.“Like the three of you...shifted.Around me.”
“You did that,” I murmur.“You walked in and flipped the whole room upside down.”
She breathes out a shaky laugh.“Great.Just what I wanted to do on my first day.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”I wet my lips.“Wren...I don’t think you know what you do to us.”
Her breath catches.
Fuck.
Too much.
Too fast.
Before I can make an even bigger idiot out of myself, she reaches out and touches the sleeve of my jacket—just a brush, quick, gentle.
It shuts me up instantly.
“Thank you,” she murmurs.“For walking me out.”
My throat goes tight.“Anytime.”
Her phone buzzes in her pocket.She checks it.
“Uber’s almost here,” she says.
I frown.“You don’t drive?”
“Long story.”
“Then I’m giving you rides from now on.”
