Page 36 of August

August might be happy...

But there was no way to leap into a different timeline, to escape this chosen reality. All she could do was try to fix the mess she’d made. August might never want anything to do with her again, and she had to accept that he had that right.

Sucking back a breath, she pushed to her feet. Now wasn’t the time to cry. She stomped down her emotions and began to unpack her things.

She took her time getting situated. After stalling for well over half an hour, she opened the bedroom door and returned to the large island, where August sat.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

He placed his phone on the counter and lifted his mug from the stone surface. “Yeah. There’s coffee in the machine if you want some.”

She really didn’t care for coffee, but the warm, bitter scent of the caffeinated brew promised to raise her dopamine levels. Opening two cupboards, she found the mugs in the second and pulled one down.

“I’ve got Taschen’s sister, Dana, working on something,” he said, as she fixed her drink. “Does the name Val Alvarez mean anything to you?”

Gigi turned to face him and brought the rim of the cup to her lips. The sweet scent of warm cream wafted to her nose, settling her agitation. She tossed the name around her head, thinking back to when she’d been with Todd.

He hadn’t shared a lot about his business dealings with her, but occasionally a name slipped. She shook her head. “Not that I can think of. Why?”

“That’s the name the assassin gave me.”

“Mmm.” She took a sip. “He could’ve been lying.”

August shrugged. “We’ll see.” He turned his phone toward her. On it was an image of a driver’s license. “That’s the guy from the diner. Ever see him before?”

She read the name, but again, nothing clicked. “I saw him at the farmhouse when he tried to kill me,” she said dryly.

“I’ve got Dana looking into him, too. Taschen says she’s a whiz, so hopefully we get some intel soon.”

She nodded. “In the meantime, we just... sit and wait?”

The corner of August’s mouth twitched, and part of her ached to see his full, brilliant smile. He needed to let go of the past. Forget his resentment toward her, if not to make things less awkward, then for his own peace.

“That’s what you did in Wyoming isn’t it?”

She swished her lips to the side and back. “That was different.”

“How so?”

“For starters, I had land to roam. A gym.” She flitted her hand in the air. “Here we’re stuck in a skyscraper watching people go about their lives.”

“Temporarily,” he conceded. Leaning back in his chair, he surveyed her. “Why the sudden ants in your pants? You weren’t bothered about coming here before. You knew this was the plan.”

The silly idiom made heat crawl up her neck. She didn’t have ants in her pants, but she’d definitely had his hands in her pants barely an hour before. Her pulse sped up.

“I made things awkward,” August said, as he folded his arms over his chest. “I’m sorry.” His apology dripped with sincerity, and dammit that cut her.

She shrugged. “No need to apologize.”

“I’ve been thinking.” His gaze lowered to the counter and her stomach bunched. Intuition told her things were about to go to hell in a handbasket. “I’m going to assign someone else to be your bodyguard. I crossed the line. My judgment’s clouded and—”

Anxiety expanded in her chest and her nose burned as tears threatened to rush to the surface.

No, don’t cry. Oh, god.

She shook her head and swallowed. “You don’t need to do that.”

“Gigi—”

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