Page 242 of The Sweetest Return

“I need⁠—”

“We should⁠—”

We both stopped.

Her mouth curved faintly. “Go ahead.”

“I need to go first.”

The smile faded, but she didn’t look scared. She looked ready. She pulled her legs from my lap and turned toward me, the shirt sliding higher on her thighs.

I wanted to put my hand there.

I kept it to myself.

“I want to take the job,” I said.

She drew a breath.

“I know.”

Of course she did.

“I want that room,” I said. “I want those backs. I want to see if what I know still matters somewhere besides me yelling at the TV.”

Her eyes softened.

“I don’t want Apex. Maybe later. Maybe never. But I don’t want to sit in a studio talking about what other men should have done. I want the work.”

“Then you should do it.”

“You say that easy.”

“I’m saying it clearly. There’s a difference.”

I looked at her.

She waited.

“I’m afraid of losing you.”

Her eyes filled before she blinked.

“I know.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.” Her voice softened. “More than I did yesterday.”

Something in me shifted.

“What happened yesterday?”

She looked down at our hands.

“Bari told me something.”

My body went still.