“You came back,” the voice says softly. Feminine. Warm.
I blink. “Sorry?”
A shadow shifts on the other side of the slats, but I still can’t see her.
“I said,” the voice purrs, “I saw you walk in. You’ve got that look about you. Restless. Hungry. Interested in a casual encounter?”
I smirk, but it feels hollow.
“No thanks,” I say, sipping my drink. “Heart’s taken. Broken. But taken.”
A pause.
“Oh?” she says. “You in love?”
I let out a slow breath. “Yeah. Think I might be.”
The silence stretches just long enough to make me wonder who’s behind the slats. Why the voice makes my chest ache like I’ve heard it before. I lean in slightly, just as the curtains shift behind me.
Footsteps. Light, precise.
I turn—and there she is.
Faith.
Mask on. Hair curled and gleaming under the amber light. A pale trench coat tied tight at the waist. Heels that make her legs look like a sin.
My heart slams into my ribs.
“Holy shit,” I breathe. “You’re here.”
“I am,” Faith says quietly. “I came back.”
We stare at each other. Everything in me coils tight with disbelief. Hope. Need.
In her mask and a trench coat, most people wouldn’t recognize her.
Faith steps closer, voice low but steady. “I had to see you. But I also needed some time to think through everything this week.”
“You don’t have to explain,” I say quickly, throat dry. “You don’t owe me anything.”
But she shakes her head. “Yes, I do.”
She reaches up and unties the mask, letting it fall away.
Her eyes are bright. Wide. Unmistakably hers.
“I went to Nashville,” she says. “Tried to run. Tried to reason. Tried to logic my way out of everything. But the truth is…”
She swallows. “I’m done pretending I don’t care. I’m done hiding.”
I step forward, stunned.
“I love you, Hunter.”
I stop breathing.
“I love you,” she repeats, voice breaking just a little. “And I don’t want to be scared to go after what I really want anymore.”
