Across the table, Ellie grips her napkin like it’s the only thing keeping her from launching it—or maybe herself—at me. Her knuckles whiten as she twists the fabric tighter, her jaw locked so hard I can almost hear her teeth grinding. If looks could kill, I’d already be six feet under.
An uncomfortable quiet grabs hold of the room until Marisa shatters it with a question about Lily’s upcoming dance recital. The conversation shifts, flowing around like a current about to drown me.
I focus on the food I barely taste because of the pressure building in my chest from the unspoken animosity coming from the woman across the table.
When dinner ends, everyone moves to the living room for dessert, but I linger in the dining room, helping clear plates. Ellie breezes past me in the dining room to grab a stack of dishes, her shoulder brushing mine. It’s the first timeI’ve gotten her alone since the porch and the closest we’ve been all evening. Being this close feels like static crackling in the air.
“I should’ve told you…privately. About the house. I’m sorry you found out that way.” My voice is low, for her ears only.
She doesn’t look at me. “It’s fine.”
And just like that, she’s gone again, disappearing into the kitchen where Shane and Marisa are putting together dessert plates.
Not wanting to torture her any further, I keep my distance and chat with Ethan and Gavin. Shane hasn’t so much as greeted me, giving me a cold shoulder almost as bad as Ellie’s. We used to be friends, but I can see now that he’s drawn a line and it’s firmly on Ellie’s side.
By the time I’m outside, saying my goodbyes to everyone, dinner feels like a blur of forced smiles and awkward conversations. I’m halfway to my cruiser when I hear a frustrated groan behind me.
Turning, I see Ellie standing by her car, the hood popped and her phone flashlight aimed into the engine.
“Everything okay?” I ask, walking toward her.
“Does it look like everything’s okay?” she hisses, then immediately sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Sorry. That was uncalled for.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It won’t start.” She moves to step back as I peer under the hood, and I catch the faintest trace of her perfume.
“Battery’s probably dead,” I say after a moment. “You need a jump?”
“Don’t have cables,” she mutters, crossing her arms.
I don’t have cables on me either, though there are likely some in her dad’s garage. If there are, I don’t bring it up.
“I’ll give you a ride,” I offer, already knowingshe’s going to argue. “I’m heading into town to pick up a few things, if that’s where you live.”
I’m actually not heading into town, and like a total creep I already know where she lives. I’ve never driven by, I’m notthatcreepy, I was more curious to see what kind of place she chose and if she lived in it alone. City records confirmed she’s the only occupant.
She hesitates, her lips settling into a thin line. “I can call someone?—”
Gavin and Ethan live on the estate property, and Shane and Layla and Ariana just left. I’m her only option unless she wants to ask her parents, which knowing her, she doesn’t.
“It’s late, and I’m here,” I cut in. “Let me drive you home.”
Her shoulders sag in reluctant defeat. “Fine.”
‘Fine’ seems to be her word of the day. Frankly I don’t care what words she says, as long as she’s still speaking to me, I’ll take it as a win.
As she settles in, more of her perfume reaches me, warm and intoxicating. She still smells like amber—deep, rich, and slightly sweet with an edge. It’s not overpowering—just enough to lead me down memory lane, to a time when that smell lingered on me and anything she came into contact with.
“Why aren’t you driving?”
Her voice pulls me out of the daze I didn’t realize I was in. It takes me a second to process that she was speaking, too drugged by her scent and still a little stunned by the fact that she willingly got into my truck without a fight.
“Earth to Dominic? Are you even listening to me?”
I blink, shaking off the haze clouding my thoughts. “What?”
She sighs, her head tilting slightly as if debating whether I’m worth repeating herself for. “I said I live at the townhouses on Second Street.”
