A spark of fear bolts through me, though I’m not even sure why.
“Thanks,” he mumbles, reaching in to secure the case from the side handle. He carries it down the hallway toward the front door. I step away from the doorway, not willing to be in his line of view if he walks back this way.
My heart is clanking like some loose vessel in the hollow of my chest. Kai didn’t even look at me. And his mannerisms were so…off.
I expected to see him leaning casually against the door, a hand in his pocket, and a smile on his face. I expected him to raise a flirtatious brow, say something playful, maybe even try to sneak in a kiss.
It’s fine, Nikki. Everything’s fine.
But it doesn’t feel fine. It feels like somehow, in a matter of minutes, my life is about to fall apart for the second time. I can see my heart now, frantically trying to rebuild the walls I tore down to let him in.
Colt is probably directing Kai in the final decision-making episode. I feel like it’s my turn to throw up now; no diaper disaster necessary. Just this sick, sick emotion. This tortured fear that I’m about to lose the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
“Okay, Nikki,” Colt pipes from the intercom. “Kai is settled into place. Please head to the bookcase.”
My heart pounds impossibly faster as I step out and head down the hall. I fill my lungs with as much air as I can suck into them, then slowly release through pursed lips.
My limbs loosen. My heart calms. But the worry in my head is making up the difference. Working my poor body into a frenzy once more.
I feel bruised as I walk, pained from head to toe by the potential alone.
I can’t do this. I can’t do this.
“I don’t think I can do this,” I say aloud this time, knowing Colt can hear me. I stop in my tracks once the library comes into view. “What happens if I back out now?”
“Ummm…your contract will be void,” Colt answers through the intercom, an edge of fear on his voice. That’s code foryou won’t get paid.
Figures. But do I even care about that anymore? I picture Kai’s expression at the door. So guarded and cold. It’s exactly how he acted when he announced he was going to California despite the ultimatum I’d given him.
“And,” Colt came again, “You’ll miss out on your chance to see how this ends. You and Kai might have a future. Why would you walk out on that?”
Might. That’s just it. This could go either way.
Still, I can’t back out now. I set my eyes on the revolving bookcase and suck in a breath of courage. Icando this.
I push my way through.
The spacious area is dark save for a brightly lit platform with a freestanding wall. Along that wall are three numbered doors. Kai’s nowhere in sight. I glance around, waiting for Colt Findley to appear.
He doesn’t, but his voice does.
“What you see before you,” Colt says through the speaker, “is what Kai—who’s standing on the other side of this wall—sees before him. Notice the numbers on each door. Your job is to pick the door that represents your decision.
“Now,” Colt continues, “during your video diary, you gave me a make-or-break rule, saying that if Kai didn’t…blah blah blah, you would not take him back.Ifthat rule still stands, you will walk up todoor number onewhen I give the cue.”
I stare at the bright red number one on the door. Sweat coats my palms. A blast of heat fills my face.
“If you’re willing to abandon your previously stated condition to pursue this second chance with Kai, you’ll walk up to door number two.
There are no doormats before these doors, but if I choose that option—door number two—I’llbe the doormat. I roll my shoulders back.
“There’s a third option,” Colt continues. “If you’d like to get out of this thing entirely…if you’ve decided that you don’t want to pursue a relationship with Kai, then you’ll step up to door number three to make that known.”
He keeps addressing me, not Kai. I glance up to where a camera slides slowly across an industrial-looking bar, capturing a birds-eye view of the action.
“So has Kai already made his choice?” I ask.
“Yes,” comes Colt’s reply. “Kai has made his, and now it’s time for you to make yours. Which will it be, Nikki? Door number one, door number two, or door number three?”
