“Fans are pissed I didn’t stay for selfies.” She curses. “I needed those extra Wild Fest votes. Did you know you can vote ten times in a twenty-four-hour period?”
It’s totally irrelevant given what went down. But it’s not irrelevant to her. She’s focusing on something she feels she can control to block out the grief. I know what that feels like. I did it after my parents died, channeling every part of me into building an empire.
I grab my phone and navigate to the Wild Fest page. “Here?”
She presses her lips together, nodding. “But you have to create an… account.”
Her voice trails off as I complete the signup. Then I vote for Little Queen, one time after another.
When I’m done, I tuck the phone away and look up to find her watching me. In her dark eyes and pressed-together lips, I see a semblance of Raegan returning.
“I’d like to stay with you tonight,” I say. “I’ll sleep on the couch. The floor. Whatever makes you feel safest.”
“I don’t need that.” Rae exhales heavily, and her feet descend toward the floor on either side of me.
My chest contracts as I take her in, a long sweep. “I do.”
* * *
Rae
When we get out at the mid-rise boutique hotel, Harrison lets me go first. Not because he’s being a gentleman. Because he’s concerned. It’s written on every inch of his handsome face, every tense line of his body.
I told him a secret I never meant so share. One I buried so far down it hasn’t seen the light of day in years.
And we can’t go back.
Tonight was my chance to make a statement that I’m worthy of Wild Fest. But by this time tomorrow, there’ll be a ton of comments about how I left without saying goodbye and no more votes.
Nothing was gained, and it feels like something huge was lost.
The elevator gets to my floor and the doors slide open, but he doesn’t move.
I brush past him. “You should go.” He planned to stay in Miami for longer, so he booked a penthouse on the ocean a few miles north of the one my gig secured for me. “I’m going to take a bath and go to bed.”
“I’m not leaving.”
My hands clench into fists. “I mean it. Fucking leave.”
“You were right,” he says from behind me, and I pause near my door. “Tonight changed something between us.”
My eyes squeeze shut. This is what I was afraid of. Our relationship has been filling a void I’d told myself didn’t need filling.
And now it’s over.
I reach for the key and slip it into the lock.
“I understand why you don’t let people in. I can’t promise to make up for all of them, Raegan. But I’ll fucking die trying.”
The raw confession as he steps toward me has my heart thudding against my ribs.
I let go of the key and turn slowly, the carpet soundless under my feet.
He fills the hallway in his dark suit. Somewhere along the way, he lost the tie. The blue of his eyes is like a stormy sea. His throat works, his scent washing over me as he closes the distance between us.
I trust him more than I ever thought I would. But he’s asking for more. To be let in when I’m vulnerable, when all I want to do is shut out the world.
I reach for the key once more, pushing in the door before pausing.