My chest tightens.
Nicklas nudges me from behind, trying to see past me. “What?—”
“Kate?” The word barely makes it out.
She’s already standing, arms wide, grin bright and completely unapologetic. “Are you going to stand there like a tree stump or give your sister a hug?”
“Kate, Jesus, what are you doing here?” My brain is still trying to catch up, still stuck somewhere between confusion and disbelief.
“I came early,” she says like it’s nothing, like she didn’t just knock me completely off balance. “Thought I’d surprise you.” Her grin widens. “Seems like it worked.”
Yeah. No shit.
She steps into me and I wrap my arms around her automatically. She smells the same—like home, like a part of my life I haven’t had close in too long.
Over her shoulder, I see Maria coming from the back, wiping her hands on a towel, that familiar smile already in place…except it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. And the second those eyes land on mine, something shifts. It’s subtle. So subtle most people wouldn’t catch it.
But I do.
The brightness isn’t there. The warmth—the easy, open way she usually looks at me—it’s dulled. Guarded.
My stomach drops.
What is going on?
A tight, uneasy feeling coils low in my gut, and I force my expression to stay neutral, even as everything inside me starts to twist. Kate pulls back, still smiling, but before I can say anything, Nicklas steps in, nudging me aside.
“Kate,” he says, all charm and easy confidence. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
He takes her hand, and she arches a brow, clearly amused. “Oh, you have?” He flashes her that grin—the one that’s gotten him out of more trouble than I can count. “Let me guess,” she says, laughing lightly. “Nicklas.”
“Nicklas, at your service.”
“She doesn’t need anything you’re serving, dude,” I mutter, shoving him out of the way and reclaiming my space beside her.
I drape an arm over Kate’s shoulders. “You met Maria?”
Kate winces, just a little. “I may have frightened Maria,” she admits. “But I didn’t do it on purpose.”
My chest tightens. “What do you mean?”
She gestures vaguely. “I stopped by your place this afternoon. You weren’t there, obviously, and I figured I’d wait. She came in to grab a book and—” Kate huffs out a small laugh. “I don’t know if she thought I was a burglar or…well. Something else.”
And just like that?—
It clicks.
The air leaves my lungs in a slow, heavy exhale. After everything Maria’s been through, after the mess with her ex, she didn’t just see a stranger in my house. She thought she saw proof of something she’s been afraid of all along. My stomach clenches hard, the realization settling deep and uncomfortable in my chest.
Because the truth is…
She doesn’t trust me.
Christ, am I failing her?
If that’s the case, then I damn well need to step up my game, because I want her, the boys, even the damn cat, in my future. Yeah, it’s true, my past has haunted me, and has kept me from moving forward, from fighting for what I want.
I’m damn tired of that.
