Page 173 of Only Be Mine

Seth glanced back at the house. “Neither did he.”

That stopped me.

“What do you mean?”

“He didn’t lose control,” Seth said carefully. “He adjusted.”

My stomach sank.

We reached his truck. He opened the passenger door for me, waiting until I was inside before closing it gently.

“You didn’t imagine any of that,” he added quietly. “And you didn’t overreact.”

I stared out the windshield as he started the engine.

The house looked the same as it always had.

Perfect.

Contained.

“Cate,” Seth said softly, “whatever happens next… you can’t go back to not knowing.”

I swallowed. “I know.”

As we pulled away from the curb, my phone buzzed again in my lap.

Unknown number.

This time, I answered it.

“Cate,” Detective Marshal said, low and steady. “I’m glad you picked up.”

I closed my eyes.

Because now that I was out, now that I’d felt the door open, I wasn’t going to let anyone close it for me again.

Chapter 63

Cate

Present

We didn’t go far.

Seth pulled into a coffee shop two blocks over, the kind with big windows, mismatched chairs and a line long enough that no one noticed anything except their own impatience. He parked crooked, killed the engine, and turned to me.

“I’ll stay close,” he said. “But I won’t sit in, not unless you want me to.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

It mattered that he asked. That he gave me the choice.

Inside, the noise wrapped around me immediately - voices, espresso machines, laughter. Life continuing. I ordered without thought, then slid into a small table near the window, my back to the wall.

My phone buzzed again.

This time, it was the same number.