“Good night, Maren.”
She turned, gave him one more devastating smile, then padded the rest of the way down the hall and disappeared into her room. The door clicked shut.
Colin lay back down and stared at the ceiling.
Now he knew the way she looked when she wanted to be kissed. Knew the way her pulse felt under his fingertips.
I don’t want to use you.
Sleep was definitely not coming anytime soon.
FOURTEEN
Maren wokeup the next morning with her fingers pressed to her lips, wishing Colin had kissed her.
She’d lain in bed for a while after that, staring at the ceiling and replaying the moment. His hand cupping her jaw. His thumb against her cheekbone. The way his eyes had gone dark and focused andhungryin the half-second before they’d both pulled back.
She knew what she’d seen in Colin’s eyes last night afterward, the battle between wanting her and his professional ethics. But right now—with Juni traumatized and Maren running from God-knows-what and Colin assigned to keep them both safe…
I don’t want to use you.
He’d said at the exact same time she did.
Maren rolled over, pressed her face into the pillow, and groaned.
She didn’t want to be someone he kissed because she was scared and convenient. He didn’t want to be someone she reached for because he was there and she was lonely.
If things were different,she’d told him.
And she’d meant it.
But things aren’t different. Not yet.
Maybe not ever.
So she got up, took a shower, and made Juni breakfast. And when Colin had left for his meeting that morning with Mac staying behind, she’d watched him go and thought about how the house would feel emptier without him.
Juni wasn’t the only one out of sorts without Colin.
Maren was just better at pretending.
By lunchtime,Juni had given up on pretending entirely.
Colin had gone to the Watchdog office for a meeting. Maren was trying to coax Juni into eating. Juni had been picking at her sandwich for ten minutes, tearing the crust into tiny pieces and lining them up on her plate like a fence. She’d been like this all morning—quiet, clingy, asking where Colin was every few minutes. They’d done another pinkie promise before he left and she’d been fine for a while, but now she was regressing into fear.
Maren couldn’t help but feel anger toward her twin.This is all your fault, Mira.
I’m sorry,she could hear her sister say.Once this is all over, it won’t happen again.
“Colin’s at work, sweetie. He’ll be back soon.”
“When?”
“Soon.”
Juni’s bottom lip trembled. “I want Colin.”
Maren’s chest squeezed. She reached across the table and smoothed Juni’s hair. “I know, baby. But Mac’s here. And I’m here. And Colin will be back like he promised. He always is.”
