For me.
Because helovedme,even though I’ddone the wrong thing.
I hugged the notebook to mychest.
Was this all really worthit? I should have just given up onmydream long ago. I should have—
Tapping on the window mademe jump again, my heart thumping as if it was in my throat.
Fox stared back at me when Iturned to look. He had dark circles under his eyes and his stubble was gettingscruffy, but he washere.
I crossed to the window,tugging it open.
“Fox?”
“Saw Vincent’s car comingaround as I was leaving,” he said. “Thought I’d better help you make yourescape. Grab shoes and we’ll go.”
The sound of Uncle Vincentunlocking the front door punctuated the sentence.
“Quinn?” he called out, thesound echoing through the house.
“Quick,” Fox said, waving metoward him. “Before he finds you.”
“No.”
No? What was Isaying?
“I…”
Footsteps.
“I don’t want to run,” Iblurted out.
I’d avoided standing up toUncle Vincent foryears.
Being a coward hadn’t gotten meanywhere. I needed to face this.
Fox stared at me. “He knows youhave the notebook,” he said. “I got caught getting it back.”
Oh.
Oh wow.
Fox had gone and broken intomy uncle’scar for me? To get me my notebook back?
“I knew what it meant toyou,” he added. “But we have to go.”
My hand tightened around thespine of the notebook.No. No, I wasn’t the one in the wronghere. And I was done with bending over backward to please people, or to takethe blame for things I hadn’t done.
This ended now.
“I’m facing him,” I said. “Andfiring him as my manager, and then I’m telling the whole world I’m in love withyou. If that’s, umm. If it’s okay?”
Fox’s whole face changed, hiseyes softening and the faintest ghost of a smile turning up the undamagedcorner of his lips.
He felt the same way. I knewbefore he even opened his mouth to respond, just from the look on his face.
Fox loved me.
