“Itwasfor you—” She stopped talking suddenly. Her voice broke just enough to make him pause.
Just enough to crack through the anger.
Jack studied her.
She looked wrecked. Like holding all of this in was costing her something.
“Then why does it feel like I’m the one who got left behind?” he asked.
Madelaine blinked rapidly, her composure slipping.
“Because I couldn’t take you with me.”
“Why not?”
She shook her head. “Jack…”
“Don’t,” he said, holding up a hand. “Don’t shut me out again. Not now. Not after—” He broke off, exhaling hard. “Not after that.”
The near-kiss hung between them again, unspoken but undeniable.
Madelaine swallowed.
“I wanted you with me,” she said at last. “More than anything.”
Jack’s chest tightened.
“But?”
“But the life I was thrust into…it’s not one you can just walk away from. And it’s not one I could drag you into, no matter how much I missed you.”
“So you decided for me.”
“Yes.”
The honesty of it stunned him.
“You don’t get to do that,” he said.
“I know,” she said. “But I did it anyway.”
Silence fell again, but it was different.
Less sharp.
More…fragile.
Jack leaned his head back, staring up at the dark ceiling of the sedan.
“You ever think maybe I would’ve chosen you anyway?” he asked.
Madelaine’s breath hitched.
“I did,” she admitted. “That’s why I stayed away.”
That landed deeper than anything else she’d said.
Jack closed his eyes briefly.
