All I could do was nod. I wanted her to keep them, wear them, and think of me every time she did.
“Your boots are by the door.” I motioned in its direction. “I made sure they survived.”
Her eyes sparkled at me for a second as she murmured her thanks before sliding off the stool and turning toward Rack. She gestured to the empty plate.
“And… thank you. For the food.”
Rack gave a short nod, nothing more.
It took everything in me not to cut in. To explain thatIhad tried to make them first, that it had been my idea, but instead I moved fast.
Rounding the island, I caught her hand, not wanting our time together to end so soon. “I’ll take you back.”
I barely made it a few steps before Rack’s voice cut in.
“Did you forget your meeting in ten minutes? The family one?”
The shift was immediate. Her hand stiffened in mine, the easy tension from before replaced with something sharper. Her smile slipped as reality snapped back into place with the reminder of who I was and what I came with.
I clenched my jaw.
“I’ll take her,” Rack continued, already moving. “You know how she gets if you miss a meeting.”
I dragged a hand over my face, frustration boiling up sharp and useless, but he wasn’t wrong.
“It’s okay,” she said softly, patting my hand before slipping free.
The moment she let go, the warmth disappeared, leaving something colder in its place.
“I’m sorry,” I said anyway, then realized I didn't have her number.
In a blur, I crossed the space to Rack, plucked the pen from his pocket, and was back in front of her before she could react.
“Hold still.”
I lifted her arm, steadying it with one hand while I scribbled across her skin.
“There.”
I stepped back, eyeing the numbers against her wrist, and that possessive, ugly monster deep inside of me purred,Mine.
Her brows pulled together as she looked down at it, then back up at me, confusion flickering across her face.
Did she really think this ended here? Not a chance.
I winked just as Rack stepped past us, pulling the door open. “This way, Miss.”
She hesitated, then started forward.
Shoving my hands into my pockets, I watched her go, the urge to stop her sitting heavy in my chest.
“I hope I didn’t disappoint you,” I called out, wanting her attention again.
She turned sharply, and I grinned.
“First supe and all.”
Her eyes widened, then narrowed just as fast. Whirling away from me, she jammed her feet into her boots before bolting out the door and slamming it behind her, but not before I caught it.
