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He turned, shifting his body to view the car parked beside them as Casey twisted in her seat to pull the destroyed nylons from her legs.
She tossed them in the back and shoved him in the shoulder. “Okay, I’m done.”
Wiping his eyes with the back of his hand, he turned and rummaged in the first-aid kit.
Casey stared at the new bags beneath his watery eyes as she pulled her bare leg up and over his lap. His palms dropped to her thigh, the warmth colliding with her skin as tingles erupted along her spine at his touch.
Fuck.
“Maybe you need stitches,” he whispered and squeezed the skin.
“I don’t need stitches. You’re just stalling. Say whatever the fuck you came here to say and get the hell out.” Casey peeked in the rearview mirror, quickly swiping at the pools of melted eyeliner beneath her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me I looked like a raccoon?”
Ripping open an alcohol wipe, he smirked. “You look beautiful. You always do.”
She jerked her leg. “Shut up, Austin.”
“You told me to say what I came here to say.”
She rolled her eyes. “You came here to tell me I look beautiful? Okay, great, the show’s over then. Get out—”
His grip tightened on her leg as he lifted his face to hers. “You know there’s more, Case.” He sighed. “So much more that I need to say to you.” His hands dragged the wipe over the wound, cleaning away the dried blood.
She winced. “Go on then.”
Austin nodded, digging his fingers back into the little container until he produced a tube of antibiotic ointment. He twisted the cap, blowing lightly on her knee until the alcohol dried.
Heat flooded through her body, warming her chilled bare skin right down to her pinky toe.
I absolutely abhor what you still do to me, Austin Templeton.
“I quit my job.”
Her heart hammered in her chest, pumping her blood and working overtime. Pressing a hand over her heart, she tilted her head. “Why?”
Wait, why do I care?
“I thought it was what I wanted.” He shook his head. “But I was wrong.”
Casey squinted, eyeing his fingers as they squeezed the tube—clear goo meeting her skin. With his index finger, he rubbed it into her knee.
“What is it that you want then?” she whispered, watching his fingers.
His hands stilled, his finger resting on her knee, coated in ointment. He turned, his gaze lifting to find hers. “You, Casey girl,” he whispered. “I wantyou. I wantus.”
She swallowed and shook her head, his words shredding the strings around her heart, exposing the raw wound living beneath—bare flesh that would never heal. “You don’t mean that.”
He squeezed her knee again. “I do though, Cinderella. And I’m so sorry it took me so goddamn long to realize it.” His eyes searched hers, boring into her soul and rousing the frayed strings of love that used to wrap around his own heart.
Tears stung her eyes and leaked from the corners, traveling down the tried-and-true path that never fully dried since the summer. “All right. So, you quit your job... and you say you want...” Casey gulped. “Me. Er—us.”
He nodded, his eyes swimming with tears.
“Tell me again then, Austin, why you brought me home toyourhouse, toyourbed, to make love tome, only to spit out—” A sob erupted from the pit of her stomach, strangling the words in her throat.
The first tear in his eye rolled down his cheek, glistening in the afternoon sun reflecting off the fresh snow. He swiped at it and hung his head, squeezing his eyes shut. Pain radiated from his heart, the silent apology on his lips penetrating her soul.
“I did it to hurt you, Case.” His words tumbled outward in a rush. “It was so fucking stupid.” His fingers squeezed her leg again. “I just... I did it to hurt you. It was the only thing I could think of that night to...”
