My pulse skips. “Nine days.”
He nods, thumb tracing a pattern against my hip. “Yeah,” he says quietly. “Then I’m cleared. Then we don’t have to keep this a secret anymore.”
I smile up at him. “Think you’ll survive that long?”
He chuckles. “Barely.”
I lean in again, press a softer kiss to the corner of his mouth. “You’re impossible. Go ice your knee.”
“Yes, Doc,” he teases, mock-obedient, and it makes me laugh.
I back down the porch steps, still smiling. He stays in the doorway, one hand braced on the frame, watching me with that look that always undoes me—steady, quiet, a little in awe.
“Goodnight, Charlie.”
“Goodnight,” I whisper.
By the time I reach my car, my chest still hasn’t settled.
Somewhere between the scent of pasta, the sound of Sophie’s laugh, and the look in Declan’s eyes…
I know I’m already in too deep.
Chapter Thirty-Two
DECLAN
Friday arrives quickly, and by late afternoon, the house smells like hairspray and nerves.
Sophie’s been running lines since lunch, her costume hanging from the closet door like it’s guarding the room.
Every few minutes she pops her head out to ask if her lip gloss looks weird or if her shoes are “too squeaky for the stage.”
She’s vibrating. I can’t blame her.
Big nights do that.
I’ve already finished my rehab set and iced. My brace feels steady, stronger than it has in months, and the countdown’s carved into my brain.
One week until I’m cleared.
One week until I’m back where I belong.
She grabs her phone off the counter. “I’m gonna call Mom before we leave. Just to make sure she’s coming.”
I hesitate, then nod. “Okay. Keep it quick—we’ve got to head out soon.”
I half-listen from the kitchen while icing my knee. Sophie’s voice carries—bright, hopeful.
“Hi, Mom! … Yeah, tonight’s the musical! … I’m not nervous. Well, kinda. But Charlotte taught me this breathing thing and it works!”
My jaw clenches.
A pause, then Sophie says, “Okay, see you soon! Love you!”
She ends the call and skips off to grab her shoes, none the wiser to the quiet twist in my stomach.
My phone buzzes seconds later.
