He gestures with his hands, his lips somewhere between amusement and bitterness.
I smirk but stay quiet.
“I thought you or Erin would treat me like that too. Like I was some fragile mess to tiptoe around. But from the start, you’ve treated me like someone… I didn’t even know existed anymore. So thank you for that.”
His voice is as soft as a whisper, and I haven’t heard him speaking this small before. He’s getting more comfortable with being vulnerable, and every time it happens, it floors me.
I know these words don’t just come from the man beside me, they come from the boy he used to be. The one who never got the chance to grow up safe.
He’s letting me see him. All of him. That breaks my heart and mends it at the same time.
I want to reach over and take his hand, to pull him over the console, hold him still and whisper that I see him, that I won’t leave.
I don’t. Instead, I look at him and let myself feel the ache and the gravity of the impossible thing blooming between us.
He’s not the only one being changed by this.The universelaid out this path for me for a reason. That’s something I want to hold onto. For now, at least, and see how it all plays out.
I smile faintly and shake my head.
“Fragile mess? You?” I snort. “Come on, McKenna. From what I’ve seen, you’re about as fragile as a hurricane. Besides, fragile messes don’t present themselves the way you do. If you’re not charming people, you’re daring them. It takes something special to pull that off.”
I pause, my grin widens.
“The messy part, though…”
Tom scoffs, and there’s that crooked smirk creeping in that knows exactly where my weaknesses lie.
“Messy?” he echoes. “I prefer… beautifully uncontained, as in... a chaos you can't resist exploring.”
He leans back in his seat, one hand loosely gesturing like he’s lecturing something philosophical. “The kind of chaos that leaves fingerprints on glass, or lips on skin long after they’re gone.”
My mouth opens automatically, but nothing comes out.Shit.
Did he really just say that? My face is on fire.
I laugh, I actually laugh, because he’s done it again, backed me into a corner with nothing but a grin and some well-placed lines.
I’ll admit it, I served it to him on a silver platter. And since I didn’t give him the satisfaction of flustering me earlier, of course he doubled down. And yes, I showed him a hint of panic just now. But I’m done running. If he wants to aim for me, fine. I’ll give him a clean shot.
“You make that sound awfully poetic, McKenna,”
I tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear without breaking eye contact, ensuring I’ve got those sapphires hooked.
I turn away, knowing he’s lost track of where to look. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying every second of it.
After all his clever, flirty smooth talk, I’ve finally found the one thing that shuts him up.
Me. And damn, it feels good.
Chapter nineteen
Tom
Fuck, he’s beating me at my own game.
He’s pretty damn good at it too, not that I expected anything less by now. I guess spending the past week with me is rubbing off on him.
Now he’s flirting with me. That’s new.
