‘Because everyone leaves.’ I clasp my hands over my mouth, the words bursting out of me before I can stop them. The true, real explanation.
He stops walking and comes back, brow softening.
‘Is that really what you think? That I’m going to leave?’
My ears are ringing. A singular tear slips over the edge of my waterline. He brushes it away.
‘Sienna, it’s been a decade.’
I look away again and press a few keys on the piano.
‘From the day you walked ontoEric Lancaster’s Laughsto now, I have never left. You have. But I haven’t,’ he continues.
A sob escapes the back of my throat.
‘Through all those tours where you all but disappear because you’re in survival mode and when you go down a writing hole for days at a time. Or when you’re being just generally shit on your phone. None of these things are bad things, but I’ve never left.’ He pauses.
A chill rolls down my spine and I don’t fight it.
‘What makes you think I’m going to?’
I shake my head.
He takes my hand, encouraging me to get up, to follow his lead. And then he wraps his arms around me, holding me against his chest.
Alarm bells. Touching. Not in public. It’s against our rules. But the way his body envelopes me makes me feel safe, his breath in the crook of my neck… I never want to let go.
‘I’ve got a new rule to add to our fake contract,’ he whispers. ‘No leaving without notifying the other person of why.’
I nod against his shoulder. ‘Okay.’
He’s crowbarring his way back in, and I’m powerless to stop it.
He lets me go. ‘I’m going to pop home to freshen up, but then we’ve got plans tonight.’
‘What are we doing?’ I swallow the lump of emotion gathered in my throat. ‘Please don’t say it’s another surprise.’
‘It was going to be…’
‘Please, Luc. I hate surprises.’
‘Really? Huh, I don’t know why I didn’t expect that.’
A smirk on his lips tells me that was exactly what he expected from me.
‘Is it because you hate surprises or because you hate feeling out of control?’ he asks.
I frown. ‘Will you tell me where we’re going?’
He looks like he’s thinking about it, but only for a second, his eyes locked on mine. I’m waiting for him to back down, to tell me of course he’ll give me back control. He’s probably waiting for me to say,yes please, Luc, I’d love for you to surprise me. I call his bluff and wait.
‘I’ll see you in a few hours,’ he tells me as he’s walking out of the piano room and downstairs to the front door.
CHAPTER 14
ELECTRIC CONTACT
TRACK 7 | SWEETHEARTS INSIDE AT NIGHT
