I’ll take more contracts. Spend time away. I can make the transition gradual enough that no one will notice the distance widening until I’m gone.
Better to walk away on my own terms than wait to be edged out.
I’m loosening a gasket when the workshop door creaks open. I hear her footsteps before she speaks. “Boyd.”
The sound of her voice and her use of my name make every muscle stiffen.
Kira’s sleeves are pulled over her ungloved hands. Her hair’s loose around her shoulders. She hesitates in the doorway, like she’s not sure she’s welcome, and guilt knocks me in the gut.
I straighten and brush my hands off. “Hey, everything okay?”
As she steps inside, the heater casts a soft glow across her face, and I fight to ignore it. “I was about to ask you the same thing,” she says. “You’ve been acting weird.”
“That’s how I always am.”
She doesn’t even smile. “You’ve been avoiding me.”
Her directness catches me off guard. “I haven’t?—”
“You have.” Her tone doesn’t sound accusing. She’s stating a fact. “You don’t look at me the same. You disappear when I come into a room.”
She looks around the workshop as she draws in a breath. Then, she looks back at me. “If I’ve done something to irritate you, I’d rather know than try to guess what’s wrong. Or … if you’re tired of having me here, you can say that, too.”
“No,” I say quickly. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” The last thing I want is for her tofeel unwelcome.
“Then what?” She shrugs her arms wide in question, before letting them fall back against her sides.
The workshop suddenly feels too small, all the space taken up by silence.
I scrub a hand over my face, as my heart thuds. “I’m not good at … this part.”
Kira frowns. “What part?”
“The part where things change,” I mutter.
Arms crossed in front of her, she studies me. “Boyd, talk to me.”
God, this would all be easier if she weren’t so beautiful. And smart.
I’d planned on managing this quietly, without dragging her into it.
“I don’t intend to be in the way,” I say finally.
“In the way of what?”
I start fiddling with the gasket again. “You and Atlas.”
She doesn't deny it. Instead, she steps closer. “Is that what you think this is about?”
“I think something shifted. And I know how that usually goes.”
She tilts her head. “How’s that?”
I hesitate, but end up deciding that half honesty is almost as bad as deceit. “Someone gets closer. Someone else steps back.”
Her eyes lock on mine. “And you assume you’re the one who should step back.”
“Yes.”
