The sudden blaze of light was blinding. We both flinched, stepping apart instinctively. The TV flickered to life, showing a late-night infomercial at full volume. The refrigerator hummed. The microwave clock blinked 3:00 AM repeatedly.
Normal. Everything was back to normal.
Except nothing felt normal at all.
"3 AM," Vance said, checking the microwave. "You should get some rest."
"So should you."
"I'm fine."
"You're not fine. You've been working all day and talking all night."
He almost smiled. "Bossy."
"Organized."
"Same thing."
I went to the bedroom. But I didn't sleep.
I lay awake, listening to the sounds of Vance settling onto the couch, and thought about the way he'd looked at my mouth.How his eyes had darkened. How his hand had felt holding mine.
Something had cracked open between us.
There was no going back now.
Chapter10
Vance
The morning after the blackout, I left before Tobias woke up.
I told myself I needed to get to work early to check the systems after the power outage and ensure nothing was compromised.
All true. All excuses.
The real reason was simpler: I couldn't face him. I couldn't look at him across the breakfast table and pretend I hadn't almost kissed him last night. I couldn't sit on that couch and not think about the way his hand felt in mine, the way I'd looked at his mouth and wanted to taste it, the way I'd wanted—
No. Distance. Distance was the answer.
I left a note on the kitchen counter:Early shift. Back late. Don't wait up.
Cowardly. I knew it was cowardly. But I did it anyway.
He texted me at noon. The burner phone buzzed in my pocket while I reviewed security footage.
Made too much soup. Saving you some.
I stared at the message for a long time, typed and deleted three different responses, and finally sent:Thanks.
He replied immediately:What time will you be home?
Late. Don't wait up.
A pause. Then:Okay. Be safe.
I put the phone away and tried to focus on work. I failed completely.
