It’s… impressive. Annoying. But impressive.
“You do this for everyone?” I ask after a minute.
“No.”
“Lucky me, then.”
When he finally steps back, wiping his hands on a rag, the truck looks exactly the same. But somehow, I know it’s different.
“Try it now,” he says.
I climb into the driver’s seat, press the brake, shift gears slightly. It holds. Solid.
I exhale. “Okay. That’s… good.”
“Don’t park it without checking again,” he says. “Especially here.”
“I will.”
A pause.
“Thank you,” I add, quieter this time.
He looks at me. Really looks. And for a second, everything else falls away. There’s something in his gaze—something intense and unreadable that sends a strange, unexpected heat curling low in my chest. I swallow.
“Still think I shouldn’t be in the building?” I ask lightly.
“Yes.”
“Good to know you’re consistent.”
His mouth tightens, like he’s holding back a response. Or something else. Then he steps back.
“Be careful, Tessa.”
The way he says my name?—
It lingers.
He turns and walks away before I can respond. I watch him go, something unsettled and unfamiliar stirring beneath my ribs. And when I glance around, I realize?—
We’re not alone. A few people stand further down the street, watching. Not openly. Not obviously. But enough. And the looks on their faces?—
Knowing. Like they saw something I didn’t. I shift, suddenly aware of the space around me in a different way.
“Okay…” I murmur.
Because whatever just happened?—
It didn’t go unnoticed. And I have a feeling…
It matters more than I understand yet.
I don’t go back inside right away. The air feels different now. Charged. Like something shifted during that argument—something I don’t fully understand but can’t ignore either.
I watch the space where Archer disappeared. He didn’t look back. Didn’t hesitate. Just… left. Again.
“That seems to be his thing,” I mutter.
