That fucking genetics assignment. And a hunt for her birth certificate. Wasthatwhy Paige had gone quiet after breakfast the other day? Because he hadn’t been able to do the tongue-curl thing? At the time, he’d assumed she’d approached him before Tansy, but what if Paige had gotten Tansy’s answer, first? And his hadn’t been what she was expecting?
Something black and oily coiled his guts. Oh, god. Oh, Jesus fuck.
Was he going to puke? Maybe. His stomach rioted, threatening to turn itself inside out, even as a deep certainty assailed him.
He didn’t want to know what had upset Paige so much. Not now, not ever. Because whatever it was, he didn’t trust it not to kill him.
29.
On Thursday, Aubrey dressed with the meticulous intent of a woman who knew she would not be the one undressing herself at the end of the night. On a whim, she’d brought a matching bra-and-panty set from New York, certain she wouldn’t actually need it, but now she layered her clothes over the crimson satin, grateful she had something to commemorate the occasion with.
Sleeping with Gallant tonight wouldn’t be so much a decision as an inevitability. Over the past three days, she’d read his letter countless times, and with each new pass, a hidden door within her had cracked wider. Now she could peer through, to a future where his words glittered with promise.
She swiped eyeshadow onto her lids and put the finishing touches on her makeup. By the time he pulled into the cul-de-sac, a low hum flowed through every nerve.
Aubrey shrugged on her coat and ventured outside. Gallant’s hello kiss added yet another frisson to the anticipation rolling down her spine. She clung to his lapels and breathed an eager sound into his mouth.
He pulled back, heavy-lidded and smiling. “I guess you liked my letter.”
“I guess I did.”
He gave her a meaningful look and helped her into the car. Downtown, he parallel-parked and came around to open her door. Every brush of his hand carried significance, a secret message for her alone, building toward...later.
She shivered at the thought, then ambled down the sidewalk with him, their combined breath frosting the air. Most of Henderson had turned out for the parade, and an ocean of light and laughter brightened the chilly dusk. People converged in the square, where an acapella group harmonized in the brightly lit bandstand. Aubrey pulled Gallant toward a row of stalls that offered hot drinks and handmade crafts.
He draped a few silk scarves around her neck, playfully pretending to lasso her, then bought her one in watercolor hues and ordered a round of mulled wine. In between sips, they traded knowing looks that made the crowd fade to white noise.
Aubrey grinned over the rim of her mug. “Promise me something?”
His lips quirked. “Hmm. Depends what it is. Nothing too risqué, I hope.”
She laughed. “Risqué? Me? Never. I just don’t want you to stop writing letters to me.”
His budding smile faltered. “They mean that much to you?”
“They mean everything.” She leaned up, planting a kiss on his lips. When she pulled back, he wore an expression she couldn’t interpret.
It passed quickly. He took her hand, squeezed it, and tugged her toward the edge of the square. “Come on, let’s find a spot for the parade, before all the good ones get taken.”
Aubrey followed, forgetting his lack of answer as soon as the procession began. Floats drifted by in a fizzle of color.
“That one!” She pointed at the turkey sailing down the street. “Paige and Nick and I did that! And that one!”
A replica of Indiana glided past, sharing a truck bed with a barbershop quartet. In the gap between floats, Aubrey spotted a familiar pair of blue eyes across the street. She waved. Paige grinned, returning the greeting with a waggle of her fingertips.
Aubrey’s attention slid to the hulking shape beyond Paige’s shoulder.
Her throat thickened. She hadn’t seen Nick in nearly two weeks—not since he’d left her in a tearful puddle on her living room floor—and now her face couldn’t decide what to do.
Meanwhile, his betrayed nothing. He held her gaze from across the road, his features carved into grim lines. His eyes were a hard black glint, firmly locked.
Except... No, she knew that look. No one else would have recognized it, but she did.
He was miserable. Abjectly, horrificallydesolated. She didn’t delude herself into thinking it had anything to do with her—no, this came from someplace deeper. This was a towering mountain of pain, locked behind an obsidian wall.
Her heart tripped and went splat. In that moment, it didn’t matter that he’d refused her, that he’dleft. A blood-deep desire engulfed every nerve. She needed to go to him, to smooth away the line between his brows with the press of her thumb. To pull him close and lend him a shoulder, like he had for her when she’d first come back.
A float cut off her view. Breathless moments sailed by. When the way cleared again, Nick and Paige had disappeared. Aubrey cast around, but the crowd had absorbed them.
