Her phone buzzed again. Paige practically levitated.
Johanna opened the message cautiously.
BLAZE:If Paige’s interrogating you, tell her I said mind her business.
Johanna stared down at the screen before slowly lifting her eyes toward her sister.
Paige narrowed hers suspiciously. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Johanna burst out laughing.
Blaze remembered exactly how her family operated. Of course, he still knew Paige was nosy. And with that knowledge, he somehow slid right back into the rhythm of her life like he never truly left.
That was the real problem.
Being around Blaze didn’t feel like starting over. It felt like coming home to something she never fully stopped missing.
And honestly, that realization terrified her.
Paige pointed dramatically. “Read the message!”
Johanna stood and clutched the phone against her chest. “I’m leaving.”
“You better say yes!”
“I’m protecting my privacy!”
“I’ll even drop you off because you’re going tonight!”
Johanna paused near the doorway because unfortunately… that part was true.
She was going.
And every person in this house already knew it.
Before Johanna stepped outside, her father’s voice stopped her gently.
“Just remember something, baby girl.”
Johanna turned back. “What?”
“People don’t spend years loving someone by accident.”
The words followed her all the way home.
And by the time Johanna closed her apartment door behind her, one terrifying truth had settled heavily inside her chest. The real danger wasn’t Blaze kissing her.
It wasn’t the gossip.
It wasn’t even the possibility of getting hurt again.
The real danger was that somewhere between moonlight, old memories, and one emotionally devastating kiss, Johanna Bennett had started wanting Braxton Carter back too.
* * *
By eight o’clock, Johanna had changed clothes four separate times.
The behavior annoyed her deeply because it implied emotional investment she had no intention of acknowledging. Unfortunately, every outfit suddenly carried consequences when Braxton Carter entered the equation.
