“Nothing.”
“You’ve been pacing since you got back from training. You reorganized Hazel’s nappies by size. Twice. And now you’re assaulting dinnerware.”
I shoved back from the table, needing to move, needing something. I paced to the window and stared down at the city sprawling below. Glass towers. Green spaces. People living their lives.
And me, stuck up here.
“We could go to the Night Safari,” I said, not turning around. “It’s outdoors. Low lighting. Hazel would probably love it.”
Silence.
“Or the Botanic Gardens. Or Liam mentioned this hawker center with authentic street food. We could?—”
“Stop.”
I turned. She’d stood, arms crossed, expression somewhere between exasperated and concerned.
“You know none of that is an option.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you listing tourist attractions?”
Because I was losing my fucking mind.
Because I couldn’t stop noticing things I had no business noticing. Like the way she tucked her hair behind her ear when she concentrated.
Or how her fingers traced the spine of her book when she was thinking.
Jesus, even the curve of her neck when she bent over Hazel. Was she ticklish there or would it make her shiver in delight?
I’d spent the entire night replaying that almost-kiss. Analyzing it like race telemetry. And no matter how I looked at it, it still blindsided me. Where had that tension come from?
One second we’d been arguing, the next I’d been close enough to feel her breath, and I still couldn’t figure out what the hell had happened.
Training this morning hadn’t helped. I’d pushed harder, faster, trying to burn it out. But the second I’d walked back into this suite and seen her curled on that sofa, it had all come rushing back.
Worse, actually. Because now I couldn’t stop noticing her body. The lean lines of her legs tucked beneath her. The way her shirt dipped at her collarbone. How her lips moved whenshe read, mouthing words she probably didn’t realize she was saying.
I dragged a hand through my hair. “I need to do something.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Anything that doesn’t involve staring at these same four walls.”
Violet’s gaze slid past me to where the Xbox sat beneath the TV, controllers gathering dust. “You could play that.”
I followed her gaze and pursed my lips, considering. The team had set it up before I’d arrived, part of the whole decompression package. I’d forgotten it was there.
“Not really a solo activity.”
“So play online.”
I turned back to her, brows raised. “You want me to play video games?”
“I want you to stop driving me insane with your restless energy.” She picked up her book again. “Do whatever you need to do. Just do it quietly.”
I considered the Xbox. When was the last time I’d actually played? Months ago, maybe. Usually I was too wired after races, too focused on training between them.
