Page 119 of Flare

“Can I go with Drew for a bit?” Jack looked to me.

I nodded. “But stay close. The detective will want to talk to both of you again.” I watched Jack go and then turned to Rhys, taking a few seconds to just drink him in.

I could’ve lost him.

“So, here we are,” I said softly, watching the play of blue and red lights wash across his face in the deepening dark. They caught on his iridescent blue eyeliner, his eyes glittering in the reflection. He looked like some mystical sprite straight out ofA Midsummer Night’s Dream, and I ached to touch him, to pull him to me and kiss away that frown, to promise everything was going to be okay, to bundle him into my bed and stand guard while he slept.

He gave an uncertain half-smile. “Here we are.”

The silence stretched between us and I hated it.Why hadn’t we fucking talked? We should’ve talked. I should’ve made it happen.“I’m so sorry, Rhys.” I reached for his hand and his fingers tightened around mine, tears brimming in his eyes.

He stared at the ruined entrance. “I just feel numb, I guess,” he finally choked out. “I, um, I think I’m going to hang around for a bit, after I talk to Preston.”

Come home with me.“Do you want me to stay?”

“No.” He patted my chest with his free hand and then left it resting over my heart for a bit. “I’ll be fine. You need to get Jack home and I have some calls to make.”

I hated to leave him, but one look at Jack’s pale face and I knew Rhys was right. The adrenaline was clearly crashing. “Another phone call to Serena, I guess.” I blew out a sigh. “But I’m not leaving without hearing about the rehearsal. The collection wasn’t inside, was it?” I hardly dared ask.

“No. We’d moved it to Kip’s after the whole Gloria fiasco, and the rehearsal was, well, a bit of a mess, actually. But we’ll get there.”

“What did Gloria have to say?”

He shrugged, his expression blank, that wall of uncertainty still standing between us. “Nothing unexpected. She thinks the interview might turn people’s opinion against me. So does Shayne.”

“Well, fuck ’em. You did nothing wrong. But do you really think she’s capable of this?” I tipped my head to the smoking store.

He shrugged. “I didn’t think she was capable of stealing my designs.”

“True.” I stared at the store. “You realise they’re not going to let you in your flat for a while?”Come home with me.

He nodded absently.

“You’re welcome to stay with me and Jack.”Please.

He frowned, then shook his head. “Thanks, but I already called Hunter.” He scraped the sole of his shoe on the ground. “I figured since we hadn’t talked... I wasn’t sure... well, you know.”

“Oh. Right. Yeah, of course.”Goddammit. Disappointment choked my throat, and I fought the prick of tears. “I, um... yeah, okay. That’s good then.” No, it wasn’t fucking good. It was anything but good.You belong with me.“Are we still meeting tomorrow?”

His gaze flicked to mine and doubt flashed in his eyes. “Yes. That is, if you still want to?”

I pressed the lightest of kisses to the corner of his lips and willed it to answer all his doubt. “Yes, I want to. More than anything.”

He clutched at my coat, keeping me close, a real smile this time. “That’s good.” He returned the kiss, chaste and sweet and maddeningly insufficient. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow.” And for the first time in a week, hope rose in my heart.

CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE

Rhys

I slumpedon the plastic chair Leon fetched for me from his backyard and stared at the front of my charred store. My body shook in the winter cold, shoulders hunched and back turned against the relentless wind that bit into my face like a whip.

The landlord had come and gone, face beetroot after being tackled by Leon, Kip, myself, Preston Lewellyn, and then a gaggle of firefighters. Sprinklers had been moved to the top of the list, and there’d be no discussion of a lease hike until they were in.

Kip thrust a huge extra-sweet coffee into my hands, and it helped chase the mental fog to the margins enough that I could think. I’d desperately wanted to accept Beck’s offer to stay with him, but one look at Jack’s pale face and I knew the kid needed to get somewhere safe.

Kip had wanted to drive me to Hunter’s, or at least hang around as I waited, but I begged him to go. Leon was there if I needed, but all I really wanted was to sit for a bit and let the feelings wash over me. I’d been numb since those first words that Flare was on fire.

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