My eyes widen as she folds her arms over her chest in defiance.
“Persuasive force? What the hell does that mean?”
She throws her hands up, exasperated. “It means… he said if I didn’t go with him, he’d leak that damn karaoke video from the bar to the press. So I did what any rational woman would do, I punched him in the face, and then I let him drag me here. Which, I’m guessing, is your place?”
My jaw ticks as I swing my glare toward Dax. He gives me a helpless shrug, like this is somehownotthemost insane planhe’s ever cooked up.
“Jesus, Dax…” I mutter, dragging a hand through my hair as frustration pulses behind my eyes. I turn back to Lyric. She’s got her arms crossed like a shield, her body tense, her mouth drawn tight, but damn, she’s even more gorgeous when she’s furious.
I take a breath and try to calm the storm inside me. “Yeah,” I say, voice low, steady. “It’s mine. And despite how you got here, I’m glad you’re here.”
“In my defense, Iwaslying about the tape. I didn’t record you, Lyric. I just said that to get you here.” We both turn to glare at Dax to shut him up as I step closer to Lyric.
But she takes a cautious step back from me.
I exhale. “You already know I’m sorry. But if you’d let me explain what happened, why I did what I di—”
“You dragged me here against my will to explain yourself?” she asks, her voice laced with frustration as she cuts me off.
I nod, steady and unapologetic, watching her eyes narrow as she groans and throws her hands up in exasperation. “Fine,” she bites out. “But you’d better get me a drink first. A strong one. I’m talking blackout levels, Chase.”
That fiery spark in her hasn’t dulled one bit. It’s still there, burning through every word, every glare she throws my way, and hell if it doesn’t twist something fierce in my chest.
I’ve missed this.
Missed her.
Even angry and cursing me out, she’severything.
I run a hand down my jaw, forcing back the grin that threatens to surface. As much as Lyric wants me to think she’s furious, I see the cracks in her armor.
She’s here.
She came.
And that’s a start.
I nod toward the living room, letting the weight of the moment settle between us. “Then come with me. I’ve got something better than a drink waiting for you.”
She doesn’t say a word, just storms ahead with that signature fire in her stride, flipping her hair like a battle flag. I follow, pulse pounding, every nerve in my body stretched tight with hope that maybe, just maybe, I’ve still got a shot at winning her back.
Dax knows when to call it, and he spins to leave me with my fiery woman. I dip my head at him in thanks. He looks at me with a go-get-’em-tiger stare and heads upstairs to leave us alone. I turn toward the living room, stepping in behind Lyric and her sweet-smelling perfume.
She stops at the top of the stairs as she gazes down on the room. Her mouth hangs wide open as she takes in the sight before her. Every surface has vase upon vase filled with various colors, shapes, and sizes of Chinese carnations—her favorite flower.Her hand flies to her chest, fingers splaying wide like she’s trying to ground herself, like what she’s seeing in front of her can’t possibly be real. Her breath catches audibly, and for a split second, she simply stands there, frozen in place.
I step in beside her, not close enough to touch, but close enough that the space between us hums with static. The tension is thick. Palpable. It coils in the air, winding around us like it’s alive, crackling with all the words we haven’t said and all the feelings neither of us has been able to outrun.
I want to close the gap. I want to reach for her, drag her into my arms, and bury my face in her neck to remind myself Lyri’sreallyhere, that I didn’t lose her for good.
But I don’t.
She’s not ready.
I can see it in the tight set of her jaw, the wary glance she tosses my way even as her eyes shimmer with something dangerously close to tears. So, I anchor my hands by my sides and let restraint burn like fire through my veins.
Let her take it in.
Let her feel it.
