“Because I’m not going to risk your safety if someone sent him to hurt you. Until we know for sure, you need to stay with me.”
She absorbs that without panic. It would seem she’s getting good at facing ugly truths head-on.
“And uni?” she asks.
“Not for a while,” I answer. “Uni will survive if you don’t go in for a few days.”
Her mouth presses into a thin line, but she doesn’t argue.
“So you’re saying this could be over in a few days?”
Somehow, I don’t think she’s referring to going home, but to us. Because there is an us; she just doesn’t know it yet.
“Do you trust my judgment?” I ask quietly.
She looks at me then, really looks at me. “You saved my life.”
I nod once. “Then trust me when I say this is about keepingyou alive. Nothing else.” I clear my throat, shifting my weight. “If the church makes you uncomfortable?—”
“It doesn’t,” she cuts in. “It’s ok… solid.”
“Still,” I continue, “you don’t have to stay here. We can go somewhere else. My place.”
Her eyes flick up, sharp now. Curious. “Your place?”
“I have a penthouse on the other side of the city,” I add, like it’s nothing.
Her eyebrow lifts. Slowly. “I didn’t realize vigilantism paid that well.”
A corner of my mouth quirks despite myself. “It pays well.”
“And?” she prompts.
I sigh. “And I’m a trust fund baby.”
That gets both eyebrows.
She studies me like she’s reassessing an entire story she didn’t realize she’d built in her head. “You don’t look like one.”
I snort softly. “What exactly does a trust fund baby look like?”
She shrugs, unapologetic. “Polished. Soft. Like they’ve never had their knuckles bleed for anything.”
The jealousy hits me out of nowhere—sharp, irrational, immediate.
“And how would you know?” I ask, too quickly.
She blinks, surprised. “Know what?”
“What a trust fund baby looks like,” I say.
There it is. Ugly. Exposed. Mine.
Her lips part, then curve into something almost amused. Almost gentle. “Justin… are you jealous?”
The word should embarrass me. Instead, it irritates me that she’s right.
“I don’t like the idea of anyone having ideas about you,” I admit, jaw tight.
