Luke scrubbed a hand over his face.
He hadn’t promised her anything. He’d been clear. He’d kept boundaries.
She was the one who wanted more. And when he’d offered her that, when he’d told her he’d take her to dinner out of town, she hadn’t wanted it.
It was just sex.
His chest felt tight.
Itwasjust sex.
He repeated it until the words lost their meaning.
CHAPTER 11
Grace
Normally she lovedthis time of year. The autumn air was crisp, sharp with the promise of change.
Today, she just felt cold.
Kids waved at her from across the street. “Bye, Miss Hart!”
She heard the cruiser before she saw it. The low rumble of the engine rolled up behind her, familiar as a heartbeat she no longer needed to listen to.
Grace didn’t slow. She didn’t tuck her chin or let her hair fall like a shield.
She kept walking.
The white-and-blue Crystal Lake PD cruiser eased into her peripheral vision as it approached the stop sign ahead.
For months, she’d bent herself around Luke’s comfort.Hisrules.Hisfear of being seen.
Grace stared straight ahead, shoulders back, steps even. She didn’t look at him.
There was a quiet, almost startling satisfaction in it. In denying him the reflexive warmth she used to give without thinking. In keeping herself whole.
He passed her on the street.
Grace didn’t waver.
He hadn’t wanted her. She wasn’t going to let herself be pathetic about him.
She turned onto Maple Street, chin lifted, stride strong.
Crystal Lake was small. Too small to avoid him forever. Too small to erase history.
But it was also hers.
And Grace Hart would not make herself smaller to move through it.
She had never beenthe kind of person who tracked cars. And if she hadn’t been on alert for Luke’s police car, Grace probably wouldn’t have noticed the dark sedan parked on her street.
The sedan sat halfway down the block, tucked neatly against the curb. The windows were tinted dark, the kind that reflected sky and trees and gave nothing back.
Her steps faltered for half a second.
She told herself it was nothing.
