Page 59 of Somehow You Knew

She cuts me off. “But that’s the thing, you couldn’t have, right?”

We stand there, eyes locked, and I can hear my heart hammering in my ears. I place my hand over my chest, willing it to calm down. But when I’m around this woman, it never does. Somehow, in four short weeks, I’ve grown to care about her.

And I don’t know what the fuck to do with that.

She sighs. “Whatever. I get it, Gage. I was just some random girl, and this whole thing is just an inconvenience for you.”

She starts to walk away, but I grab her hand, pulling her back to face me. Before I can think better of it, I reach out and cup the side of her face. Red blotches cover her cheeks and her eyes are still brimming with tears, but right now I have an insane desire to kiss her, to make her feel better, to taste those lips that have been haunting my memories for weeks.

What the fuck?

“Maybe your dad was with you in that moment. Maybe that’s why I felt the hummingbird when I started talking to you…”

Her eyes bounce back and forth between mine. “Yeah. Maybe…”

“And today? Maybe my aunt was with me today when I found that chime…”

“I thought you didn’t believe in that stuff?”

My eyes drop to her lips as her tongue peeks out to lick them. “I don’t know what I believe anymore, Spitfire.”

She holds my gaze, something charged building between us. Before I can stop myself, I’m leaning in.

Herlips part, her breath catching as her gaze flicks from my mouth back to my eyes. “Gage…”

I stroke her cheek with my thumb, loving how her breath hitches when I do.

And then I snap back to reality.

Before I do anything stupid, I jerk my hand away and take a step back.

Her expression falters. It’s quick—just a flicker of hurt—but I see it. And I hate that I put it there. It’s enough to warn me that I’m playing with fire, and if I’m not careful, we’ll both get burned.

“We should get some sleep. It’s been a long day,” I say, turning away from her and hating myself for it.

She’s funny, yet serious. Kind, but doesn’t take shit. Loves her family and holds strong in what she believes in. She values her relationships with people, which is exactly why she shouldn’t be wasting her time with me.

Hazel scoffs. “Yeah. I agree. Wouldn’t want you to miss your beauty rest, although"—her gaze rakes over me as she folds her arms—“I’m not sure it’s helping much.”

There she is.

A smirk tugs at my lips. She’s back to giving me hell, and honestly, I’m relieved.

I could fire back with something snarky. Hell, I could be a top-notch ass right now if I wanted to. But instead, I chuckle and walk down the hall toward my room. “Good night, Spitfire.”

“Yeah, whatever,” she mutters, turning back to the kitchen.

“Fuck.” I close my door and lean back against it, my heart pounding so hard in my chest that I need to get it under control before this night turns into an even bigger shit show.

I force a slow inhale, then let it out through my nose. Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

It doesn’t help.

With a low curse, I walk over to my nightstand, twist the cap off my medication, and toss a pill into my mouth.

“Lock it up,” I mutter to myself, continuing to focus on my breathing. “Don’t let her in.”

But even as I say those words, I know it’s already too late.

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