“There’s no such thing.”
“He disagrees.”
I kissed him once more, then stepped back because if I didn’t, I’d forget every boundary we’d agreed to keep.
Coffee first. Food. Separate cars. Different entrances. Normal faces.
The new version of our life looked a lot like the old one from the outside, but it felt different under my skin. Not safer exactly. More honest in the way a bruise is honest once you stop pretending it doesn’t hurt.
Jace ate standing up, then remembered sitting down was an option and moved to the island with his plate. He set two alarms on his phone for things he did not explain to me. One for leaving. One, he said after a second, for “not accidentally taking your entire pantry with me because my brain thinks packing snacks is the same as solving legal exposure.”
I let him have that one without comment.
When he left through the side door, he checked the street the way he always did. I hated how automatic it had become. He hated it too. I could see it in the set of his shoulders.
Before he stepped outside, he turned back.
“No more waiting until we get caught,” he said.
It was not a question.
“No,” I said. “No more.”
He nodded once, then went.
I gave him fifteen minutes before I left for the rink.
The day moved like it had teeth.
Practice. Staff meetings. Video. A call from my agent I didn’t return because I didn’t yet know what version of the truth I was ready to give him. Twice I saw Jace across the arena and had to look away sooner than instinct wanted. He was good on the ice, sharp despite the exhaustion, barking at Benny for missing a read, laughing when Roman sprayed snow at his skates during a stoppage. To anyone else, he looked like Jace Holloway, fast, bright, irritatingly alive.
To me, he looked like a man holding himself together with alarms, caffeine, and force of will.
At one thirty, I got the message from Tessa.
Counsel can meet at four. Conference room C. External employment advisor retained by ownership for policy matters. Confidential consult. I’ll walk you in separately.
I stared at the words for longer than necessary.
External employment advisor retained by ownership.
Not independent in the full sense. Not ours alone. But someone who knew the organization, the policy, the structure. A first step, not the whole road.
I sent Jace a message from the work thread we had agreed to keep clean.
Meeting confirmed. Four.
His reply came three minutes later.
Okay.
Then, a second message.
I am not spiraling. This is an informational gathering mission.
I looked at the screen despite myself.
A third message arrived.
