And agreeing to nothing isn't going to solve it.
4
ETHAN
Idon't sleep.
Instead, I lie in bed staring at the ceiling and thinking about Callie's text. What if Luke didn't know?
The question sits in my chest like a stone, heavy, and impossible to ignore.
I know the answer. We'd be lying to him. Sneaking around behind his back, and betraying the trust he's given me since the day we met.
I can't do that.
Won't do that.
At five, I give up on sleep and go for a run. The air is cool and damp, and my feet hit the dirt trail in rhythm. One step, then another. Don't think. Just move.
It doesn't work.
All I can think about is Callie standing behind her counter yesterday. The way she looked at me when our fingers touched. The way she moved around the kitchen like she owned the space, confident and sure.
The way I wanted to reach across that counter and pull her to me.
I run harder. Faster. Push myself until my lungs burn and my legs shake. When I finally stop, I'm three miles from the cabin and no closer to any kind of clarity.
I walk back slowly. The sun is coming up. Birds are starting their morning noise. Everything looks peaceful and normal.
Nothing feels peaceful or normal.
By seven, I'm showered, caffeinated and staring at my laptop. There are a lot of work emails piling up. I need to review code for the London office, and I need to finish the security audit that's due Wednesday.
I do none of it.
Instead, I sit there thinking about how I told Callie to stop making this harder. How I drew a line and told her we couldn't cross it, and then I remember how she asked what if Luke didn't know.
My phone buzzes.
Luke: You up?
Me: Yeah.
Luke: Come to breakfast. Miller's Diner. My treat.
I should say no. Should stay here and work and put distance between myself and anything involving the Reyes family.
Me: What time?
Luke: Now. I'm already here.
I close my laptop and grab my keys.
Miller's Diner is packed when I arrive. Luke is in a booth near the back, coffee already in front of him. He waves me over.
"You look like shit," he says when I slide into the seat across from him.
"Thanks."
