Page 72 of Glitched Play

I sigh. "Fine. Maybe a little."

"Witt?"

The sound of his name is a direct hit. I don't answer fast enough.

Chase's expression doesn't change much, but something in his eyes sharpens. Not jealousy. Not accusation. More like he just found the missing piece in a puzzle he didn't realize he was solving.

"Nothing happened," I say quickly.

Another lie.

Or not.

What counts as something?

A kiss counts.

A kiss followed by the man saying he shouldn't have done it and leaving definitely counts as something.

Chase takes a drink of water, giving me time I didn't ask for but desperately need. "Maci, I'm not asking because I think you owe me an explanation."

"I know."

"I mean it."

"I know."

He looks at me for a long second. "You thanked me four times tonight."

I frown. "I did?"

"Yes."

"For what?"

"For telling you about the job. For helping you pack. For introducing you to the idea of Austin. For being here." His mouth curves, soft and crooked. "You keep acting like I built the door when all I did was point at it."

Something tightens behind my ribs.

"Chase—"

"No." He shakes his head. "You got this because you're brilliant. You earned it before I ever said the word Synatrix. I just reminded you to look."

I blink too fast. Of course, he would say exactly the thing I didn't know I needed to hear.

I step forward and hug him before I can talk myself out of it. He wraps one arm around me, warm and solid and familiar in the way safe things are familiar. There's no lightning bolt. No dangerous pull. No sense that the world has gone quiet because one man is looking at me.

But there is comfort.

And right now, comfort is the only reason I don't fall apart in the middle of a black-tie gala.

"Thank you," I whisper.

He laughs against my hair. "That's five."

I pull back and wipe under one eye carefully, so I don't ruin whatever magic Noelle did to my makeup. "I'm serious."

"So am I."