Page 147 of Your Place or Mine

The door shut behind her with a gentle thud.

She glanced around, smiling faintly. “It’s exactly how I pictured it. Rugged. Broody. Smells like cedar and firewood.”

“I keep it simple.”

“It’s nice.”

I scratched the back of my neck. “I wasn’t expecting company.”

“I know,” she said, turning to face me again. “But I didn’t want to go to sleep tonight wondering if I should’ve said something. Or worse, regretting that I didn’t.”

The air between us hummed.

I gestured toward the living room. “Want to sit?”

She nodded, and we walked to the couch. I sat on one end. She took the other. The space between us felt charged, like a storm cloud that hadn’t decided whether to pour or pass.

She cleared her throat. “Thank you. For earlier.”

“Didn’t do anything special.”

“You did.” Her voice softened. “You showed up. You saw what was happening, and you didn’t hesitate.”

I stared at the wall, jaw tight. “Didn’t like the way he looked at you. The way he touched your arm.”

“I didn’t either.”

My fists unclenched slightly.

“I guess I came here tonight,” she went on, “because I wanted you to know that... that meant something to me.”

My eyes finally met hers. “You mean something to me, Lydia.”

There it was.

The truth, out in the open. Raw. Real.

She blinked, like the words had hit harder than she expected. “You do, too. Even when I try to pretend you don’t.”

“Is that what this is?” I asked, voice lower. “Pretending?”

She didn’t answer right away. Just leaned back, curling one leg beneath her as she looked around my living room like she was trying to get her bearings.

“No,” she said at last. “Not anymore.”

Something loosened in my chest. Just a little.

She turned to me again. “I’m tired of running from things that scare me. Especially the ones that make me feel something.”

I nodded once, heart hammering in my ribs.

“Then stay,” I said. “Just for a little while.”

Her eyes didn’t waver. “Okay.”

And just like that, the house didn’t feel so damn empty anymore.

Chapter Thirty-Four

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