I nod. We walk inside and move around each other, uncertain where to stand. While he fills the kettle, I lean my palms on thecounter, head lowered. Knox sets a mug beside me so gently it almost feels like he's afraid to touch me.
"Sloane. Talk to me."
My throat locks. "I'm tired," I whisper.
His jaw tightens. He looks away. Then he turns back to the counter. We drink tea at opposite ends of the couch.
Later, when we climb into bed, he doesn't pull me into him like he always does. He lies on his side. Facing away. I lie there in the dark, staring at the back of the man I love but will never say it to, and the distance between us feels bigger than the bed itself.
Chapter 19
Sloane
BythetimeImake it upstairs, the noise could pass for a riot. Laughter spills through the hallway, loud and overlapping. Someone shrieks Ruby's name like a curse, then wheezes into hysterics. Music thumps faintly under it all. Something loud and poppy with way too much bass for the tiny Bluetooth speaker they stole from the downstairs bar.
I pause outside Malachi's bedroom door and smile before I can stop myself. Knox and I have been careful with each other all week, gentle where we used to be easy, but the sharp edges have smoothed enough that his texts make me smile again instead of flinch. The word home shows up before I can block it. I knock once, knuckles barely brushing wood.
"Who dares disturb this sacred temple?" Ruby yells.
Frankie's dry voice follows. "It's Sloane, you menace. Let her in before she changes her mind."
I open the door and step into chaos.
Malachi's room has been completely taken over. The bed is unmade and shoved at an angle like someone tried to move it before giving up halfway. An explosion of blankets and pillows covers the floor, making a nest of mismatched fabrics. Takeout containers tower on the dresser. Candles flicker on the nightstands. Those must be Frankie's doing, judging by the smoky sage and clove scent under the pizza.
A movie plays on the TV, paused on a frame of a clown crawling out of a storm drain.
I glare at it on instinct. "You promised we weren't actually watching It."
Ruby puffs up, perched on the floor in leggings and an oversized T-shirt that says GENDER ROLES? I PREFER CHAOS. Hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun that somehow still looks intentional.
"We're not. I was just showing Candace why Knox is a coward."
"He's not a coward," I mutter automatically, stepping over a pile of blankets. "He just hates clowns."
"The only rational stance," Frankie adds from where she's sprawled on her stomach, shuffling UNO cards like she's about to hustle a casino. Black hair falls into her pale face in short, sharp lines, blue-green eyes gleaming. "You good, nurse?"
I nod, toeing off my shoes. "No twelve-hour shift tomorrow. I'm officially off duty and ready to make questionable choices."
Ruby claps. "Hell yes. Come sit your hot wife ass down."
Candace is on the bed, back against the headboard, Malachi's hoodie swallowing her whole. The sleeves cover her hands, hemfalling halfway down her thighs. Wild blonde curls piled in a messy knot. She looks softer than usual.
Her eyes catch mine and she gives a small, genuine smile. "You made it."
"Wouldn't miss it. Also, if I went home, Knox would try to talk me into naked cardio, and I promised Maggie I'd keep an eye on you." I glance around the room. "Where's Darla?"
"Still at East's," Candace says. "She texted. Said she wasn't up for it yet, but she wants pictures."
Ruby snorts. "You make that sound like a hardship."
Maggie chooses that exact moment to walk in, balancing a tray of snacks, tattooed arms steady, domestic goddess in full command. She eyes me pointedly.
"You promised you wouldn't let these girls survive on pizza alone. Here. Veggies. Fruit. Something with actual vitamins."
We all stare at the tray.
"Those grapes better be drunk," Ruby says suspiciously.
