“But you’re staying now? You’re not going back to your mom’s house?”
“Tiger.” He sets the glass down. “I came back because Marcus called and said Zinnia needed help. Not because I forgive you. Not because I’m okay with any of this.”
I look down at the water and then back to him. “Okay.”
He chugs the rest of his glass and places it in the sink.
Now that his back is facing me, I find the courage to say, “Jax, please. Talk to me.” My stomach rumbles with butterflies when he turns to look at me.
He says, “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“Anything. Just... something.”
He’s quiet for a long moment. “I’m going to bed.”
He walks past me.
And I stand there alone in the kitchen, wondering if I lost him completely.
I go to bed next to Zinnia and lie there staring at the ceiling.
I can’t sleep. I have too much running through my head.
Around midnight, I get up to use the bathroom. I splash water on my face and sigh. I’m so happy to have Zinnia, but my heart’s still not satisfied. Guilt starts to creep in. I literally got what I wanted, what I’ve been crying nonstop over. My sister’s here and she’s safe, so why do I still feel this way?
When I open the door, Jax is standing in the hallway.
We both freeze.
“Oh,” I whisper. “Sorry.”
Neither of us moves.
The tension from earlier is still here. But there’s something else now too. Something electric. My pulse spikes.
“Can’t sleep?” I ask.
“No.”
“Me neither.”
We stand there, looking at each other in the dark hallway.
Then I make a decision.
I walk toward him. He doesn’t move. Doesn’t back away.
I stop right in front of him, close enough to feel his warmth.
“Jax,” I whisper.
His jaw clenches. “You should go back to bed.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Tiger—”
“Please. I just...” I don’t know how to finish that sentence.
