Johanna looked away first. “Do you know what it feels like hearing you considered a job thousands of miles away after everything that’s happened between us these last few weeks?”
The wind turned sharper suddenly, cold enough to sting exposed skin.
Without answering immediately, Blaze took her hand and guided her toward the hotel entrance. The moment they steppedinside the grand lobby, warmth surrounded them again along with the low hum of conversations, rolling luggage, and piano music drifting faintly from the lounge bar. Blaze led her toward a quieter corner near the elevators before finally stopping.
“I know where your mind went,” he said carefully. “And you got every right to be angry.”
Johanna’s eyes lifted to his.
Fear stared back at him now, rawer and far less controlled than before.
“Angry?” Her brow lifted slightly. “I’m not angry. I’m pissed because I was stupid enough to fall this hard again.”
The confession caused his stomach to drop.
Blaze stared at her for several long seconds while hotel guests moved through the lobby around them completely unaware that his entire world suddenly felt unstable again.
“You think you’re stupid for giving me another chance?”
Johanna gave a faint laugh that sounded dangerously close to breaking apart.
“No.” She looked down briefly before shaking her head. “I think trusting it’ll last this time makes me stupid.”
Shit!
Blaze scrubbed one hand slowly across his face.
This wasn’t really about Seattle anymore. It was about abandonment, trust, and the part of Johanna that still believed loving him meant eventually getting left behind.
Blaze stepped closer. “Baby, look at me.”
Reluctantly, she did.
And the second he saw the shine gathering in her eyes, something inside him twisted painfully.
Damn.
He reached for her hand slowly this time, giving her space to pull away if she wanted to.
She let him hold it.
But her fingers felt cold inside his.
“I need you to hear me carefully,” he said quietly.
Johanna swallowed hard but stayed silent.
“I interviewed for that job when my life looked completely different.” His thumb moved slowly across her knuckles. “Back then, I honestly thought maybe leaving Sheraton Beach would fix everything that felt wrong in my life.”
A tear slipped loose before she could stop it.
Blaze’s expression tightened instantly.
“Jo…”
She laughed softly and wiped it away too quickly. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
