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“Honey,” Marthe says. “The reason this town survives is because we all guard its secrets. Nick wasn’t allowed to tell you. None of us were. Everything he’s shared with you tonight, he’s going to have to answer for tomorrow.”

“Mom,” Nick warns.

“She’s owed the whole of it, Nick.”

“What do you mean?”

Neither of them is looking at me.

“Approval from the town council is required before telling outsiders.” Nick says outsiders like it’s somebody else’s word. “I did not ask for permission.”

“But you didn’t tell me. The guy who attacked me did.” I’m searching for a loophole so Nick doesn’t get the blame, even after all this. “Technically.”

He seems tired in a way I’ve never seen on him. “I’m not sure that will matter.”

Every time we got close, he pulled away. After the festival. The cabin. Weeks spent together, night after night, trying to protect us both. Roslyn was right. He was caught between what he wanted and what was asked of him. He made a mess of it, but he was trying. Understanding why doesn’t make it okay. Tonight, though, he gave me answers, knowing what it would cost him. That counts for something.

“I thought you’d be more freaked out,” Luca says. “By all of this.”

“Oh, I’ll get there. Ask me next week.”

Nick takes up his spot by the fireplace, far from me, and despite everything, I want to go to him and tell him we’ll figure it out together.

Would he let me? He did once when I didn’t know what he was.

I leave the peas on the coffee table and approach him at the fireplace, keeping that three feet of space between us that he’s so fond of.

“You kissed me back.” It’s out, with his mom and brother right there, and I don’t care. “Why?”

“You know why.” His voice is low. The familiar pale gray has returned.

“But you stopped.”

“Because you didn’t know who you were giving yourself to.”

“And now?” I’d rather not have this conversation in front of an audience but I need the answer more.

He doesn’t look away. There’s want in it, but also fear. “Now you do.”

Even after everything he’s told me, this is the most raw I’ve ever seen him.

“And that’s our cue to leave.” Luca stands, dragging Marthe with him. “I’ll drive you home, Mom.”

Marthe pats my arm on the way past and doesn’t manage to hide her grin.

“And I think I’ll stay at Mom’s tonight,” he mutters as the front door closes.

Then it’s me and Nick, standing opposite each other, the fire crackling in the hearth. The man who never lets anyone in just bared his soul. Wait, does he still have a soul? I add that to my list of questions.

My heart is thrashing about like a bird in a box. I take a single step closer, followed by another.

Black eyes. The sound that man’s neck made. I keep going.

His hand slides along the mantel and grips it.

Barely inches between us, I have to tip my face up to see him. He’s on a ledge, waiting.

“I’m not afraid of you. I’m not afraid of this.”