Sabine is turned to face me by a lowered sitting/standing desk near the windows. “Yeah, the stairs up to the loft come inveryhandy,” she says dryly.
I smile awkwardly before I nod to the lofted area. “Do you have guests a lot?”
“If I do?” she snaps.
I frown. “Sorry, I wasn’t…I just mean, the bed up there…?”
“Yeah,” she finally says. “I have friends who stay over sometimes.”
I nod, turning to look around her space again.
“Why are you so nervous?” she asks, cocking a brow at me.
I sigh. “Look, I know you didn’t lose your phone that night.”
She frowns. “Yes, I?—”
“And Vaughn does, too.”
Her mouth snaps shut, her face paling.
“But he also knows you didn’t have anything to do with what happened after I left the theater.”
Her lips purse. “What doyouthink?”
I smile. “I think if he of all people trusts someone, I probably should, too.”
Her eyes drop to her lap.
“Look, I know you don’t like me, because you’re so protective of him. I get it,” I continue. “I’ve been like that my whole life with my big brother, Roman. Even when he was coming out and falling in love with a close friend of mine, I wassuspiciousof that friend’s intentions. I mean, Val is literally one of my besties, and I wasstillsecond guessing why he was with Roman.” I smile wryly. “I love him, and you worry about the people you love. You protect them, even if it makes you come off as a little crazy.”
Sabine eyes me. “Are you saying I come off as a little crazy?”
“Yeah, girl,” I blurt, laughing a little, then again when I see her biting back a smile of her own. “But I get why, and…” I shrug. “I just wanted you to know that.”
She inhales slowly, drumming her fingers on the arm of her wheelchair. “So… Whatareyour intentions with Vaughn?”
“I honestly don’t know,” I sigh. “I wish I had a better answer for you. But Icantell you… I really like him. I feel safe with him. I feel seen and heard in a way I’ve never been before. I miss him when I’m not around him. I think about him when we’re apart. And I feel whole when we’re together.”
My eyes widen as I realize the full gravity of what I’ve just said.
“Sorry,” I mumble. “That was…”
“A little crazy?” she smirks.
I nod. “Maybe a little.”
Sabine’s brows knit. “I’m sorry I sent that text. I truly,trulyhad no idea?—”
“Think we could start over?” I say hopefully.
“Depends. Do you think it’s too early for a glass of wine?”
I eye her wryly. “Is this the part where you pretend to be my friend and drug me again?”
She squirms and turns red, but then we both laugh.
“But, no,” I shake my head. “Not too early.”
