“We have to wait to burn his house down. It would be too obvious if we do it now.”
I snort. “Don’t make me laugh. I’m mad.”
“Really? You seem more sad.”
“Thanks,” I mutter.
“I don’t like it.”
“You think I like being sad?”
“No, not that.” She shakes her head. “I don’t believe it.”
“I can’t fake cry like you.” It really is a talent.
“That’s not what I mean. Something isn’t right,” she says as she pulls into Clause’s driveaway. I want to get my stuff before he returns home.
“I’m going to grab my things.” I hop out of the car, and she follows after me. The second I enter the bedroom, I freeze, and my eyes fill with tears again. I turn around and without missing a beat Tins wraps her arms around me.
“I love being irrational. It’s my favorite, but we should calm down and think,” she whispers into my ear. I never in my life thought Tins would say those words, but I guess today is full of surprises.
“What is there to think about?”
“Well, for one, your disguise must have—” Tins is cut off by the sound of the front door banging open, and I stiffen just before Clause bellows my name through the house.
“How did he know I was here?” I hiss. I can’t face him right now. I still can’t believe I threw a cake at him, because that’s more like Tins not me. A second later Clause and Jack both appear in the doorway.
“You tracked me.” Tins points to Jack, and my eyes lock with Clause’s. His expression sucks all the air out of me because it’s filled with a mix of rage and anguish.
“I always track you,” Jack responds.
“But you brought him.” She points her thumb toward Clause.
“The only way I could get Clause to not snap Mr. Sweetway’s neck was to promise him I’d take him to Frostie.”
“Oh, the plot thickens!” Tins shouts and bounces on her feet. “I knew something was up. Why didn’t I guess that? He’s jealous of my website, isn’t he? We stole his orders.”
“Wait, what?” I ask because I’m so freaking confused, and it’s hard to think straight right now.
“Frostie, I would never hurt or betray you.” Clause closes the space between us and drops to his knees in front of me, wrapping his arms around my waist. He presses his face against my stomach and takes a deep breath. I know he’s breathing me in because it’s something he always does, and my body can’t help but respond to it.
“He didn’t tell your secret,” Jack says in a soft tone. “The man’s in love with you, Frostie. Men in love don’t do that shit.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” Tins chimes in. “So this is all my fault.” She smiles, but it quickly drops from her face as realization of everything falls down upon both of us. “I’ll kill him.” She starts to march from the room, but Jack snags her around the waist.
“Slow down, killer. Clause already did enough damage for one day in Westchester.”
“I bet I could do more,” Tins challenges. “I’ll take that whole town down. They can’t even do Christmas right.”
“Let’s discuss this at home.” Jack picks her up and tosses her over his shoulder.
“Hey!” she protests, which gets her a smack on the ass before Jack turns to leave. I hear the front door close a few seconds later, and the house falls quiet.
“It wasn’t you,” I say, and it’s not a question. Clause stands and picks me up in the process before carrying me over to the bed and pinning me beneath him. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I shouldn’t have—”
His kiss cuts off my apology, but it’s fine by me.
“I never should have walked away from you,” he says, and I melt at his words.