Which was exactly what made it dangerous.
Men like him didn’t just appear when you needed them most. Sincere, self-possessed, and unfairly attractive. The timing felt suspect, like the universe dangling something shiny I wasn’t meant to touch.
I drew in a slow breath and blew it out hard, the sound breaking into an unmistakable raspberry. Not graceful, but honest. Besides, he’d already seen me with pudding in my teeth and tears on my cheeks. Any pretense was long gone.
Eric’s smile widened, dimples flashing like he knew exactly what they did to me.
God, he really is great to look at.
“Thanks, Eric. For everything.”
“Anytime.”
I turned toward my father’s room, forcing my legs to move.
“Hey.”
I glanced back.
He leaned against the doorframe, one arm braced overhead, bicep bulging against his sleeve. His posture was casual in a way that should’ve been illegal, his gaze steady and unapologetic as it held mine.
“I’ll see you around, beautiful Jamie.” He winked and backed into Caleb’s room without breaking eye contact.
I continued down the hall on rubber legs, with a smile fixed stubbornly on my face. It stayed with me all the way to my father’s door.
It was still there when I stepped inside.
Even as I faced the one man who’d spent years breaking my heart.
DAY MINUS 6
Chapter Five
Jamie
Fifth day at the hospital, and nothing had changed. Not my father’s condition. Certainly not his attitude. I still hadn’t managed to get him to eat, and he’d been pointedly ignoring me since yesterday’s blowup.
When he wasn’t asleep, he stared at the blank television like it had personally wronged him. Every time I asked if he wanted something on, he answered with the same gruff, no.
Okay, so he wasn’t completely ignoring me. But a single word wasn’t much of a conversation, and there was only so much wall-staring I could handle.
I settled into the chair beside his bed and checked Hunter’s latest text.
Math was annoying today
My fingers flew over the screen. Are you still doing fractions?
I waited, leg bouncing, phone clenched tight, hoping I’d caught him between classes.
Yes they r stupid and boring
A quiet sigh escaped as I typed my reply. Well, if you want to be an architect and build stuff like you do in Minecraft, you’ll need to take a lot of math classes.
The typing bubble hovered longer than I liked. Long enough for my chest to tighten.
Then his response popped up.
UGH
