I understood then. She hadn't been checking a closet. She'd been checking permanence.
Her room.
She wanted proof it would stay hers, that the things she left behind would remain where she put them, and that her place in his life hadn't shifted because he'd moved closer to mine.
“She was checking the perimeter,” I said.
Nick looked down at me.
I smiled faintly. “I know a ranger.”
His eyes held mine in the low patio light, blue gone dark at the edges. “I told her nothing moves unless she moves it.”
“Then you gave her something solid.”
“She said that was dramatic.”
“She’s not wrong.”
His mouth almost curved. “No.”
I looked back toward the lawn. Daisy had handed Sofia another citation pad. This one appeared to have stickers. God help us all.
“I’m glad she’s here,” I said.
Nick was quiet for a moment. “She likes you.”
“That sounds premature.”
“It’s not.”
“She tolerates me with impressive discipline.”
“She respects you.”
“That is a much better foundation.”
His fingers brushed my wrist. “Yes.”
The small touch moved through me with ridiculous precision. Eight months, and my body still had the nerve to react to him as if he had walked into my life five minutes ago and ruined the entire structural integrity of my self-control.
He angled slightly closer, enough to lower his voice without making a show of it. “She texted me during dinner.”
“Did she?”
A second later, his phone rested in my palm. The screen glowed between us.
SOFIA: juliettes family is terrifying
SOFIA: daisy gave me credentials
SOFIA: juliette is still scary
SOFIA: i approve :)
I stared at the messages for a long second.
Something hot and inconvenient pressed behind my ribs.
