Chapter 16 #2
Arms closed around me like bands of steel, holding me together like he could fix what was broken with sheer strength alone. “We still have eleven days,” he said lightly and I clung to the words, to the pretence of comfort they offered. “Let me be there for you. Let me be your friend.”
Eleven days. Maybe for eleven days, it would be nice not to be alone.
I took in one full breath and then another before I blinked away any lingering moisture in my eyes and turned to face him.
“Have you ever been to Canada?”
It was my first time seeing August’s place and it wasn’t what I’d been expecting. There wasn’t much inside that reminded me of him, though it stopped short of feeling bare, and it was tidier than my apartment on a good day.
As if sensing my curiosity, August dropped his keys onto the kitchen counter just inside the kitchen doorway and smiled at me, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s, ah, not much — the team supplies our accommodation so we’re all under the same roof.”
Maybe it was because it was early and I was tired, or maybe it was just the shock of learning the truth about how my dad died, but I found it easy to fall back into old patterns where August was concerned. “You mean number sixteen might be just down the hall?”
August dropped his hand and rolled his eyes at me. “Would number sixteen be coming with you to God knows where?”
He’d meant it as a joke, but I raised an eyebrow before avoiding his gaze. “You don’t need to come with me. I’ll be fine on my own.” I’d done well so far, anyway.
“I’m coming.”
“You’re sure?” Everything in me tightened as I waited for him to reply, my breath slipping free in a quiet sigh of relief when he smiled slightly. “What about training and—”
“Not important.” He kept the words light, but the implication wasn’t lost on me. His job wasn’t important, but I was. It was hard to trust, considering the bombshell I’d learned about my dad that morning. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
I swallowed hard and opted not to reply, instead moving further into the room and taking a seat on the leather couch he had facing his flatscreen.
His set-up was fairly similar to my own, the only real difference was that his kitchen was much closer to his lounge area than in my apartment.
Still, it felt familiar, putting me at ease.
“Okay, I’m just going to grab some clothes and stuff and then I’ll be ready.”
I nodded, hearing his footsteps retreat as I bent down to peer into Muffin’s black carrier.
She’d protested loudly in the car on the way to August’s place, but now that we were stationary she seemed to have calmed down and instead was watching me with big eyes as I wriggled one finger at her through the hole in the mesh.
Low voices sounded from the direction August had walked in and after a moment I recognised River’s voice over a loudspeaker.
“This makes no sense — if she’s going to run off to Cancun then that’s her business. Nobody expects you to keep up appearances like this, contract or not.”
I stood and walked a little closer to the doorway that led onto a small hall and, presumably, August’s bedroom.
“I’m going, Riv. I think she needs someone right now, and I keep my promises. Besides, if the press is going to go wild then it’s better for me to get away too. It’ll be fine.”
My fingers tightened around the doorframe as I listened, brows scrunching.
I didn’t need August to help me like he was some white knight and I was the hapless princess.
I could take care of myself. I had half a mind to go into the bedroom and tell him as much, when River’s next words froze me in place.
“I see how you look at her. Just… be careful, okay? She’s a great girl, August, but her life is complicated.”
I jerked back, heart beating faster.
River wasn’t wrong, so why did his words sting so much?
I held my breath, all my senses tuned into August’s reply, but before he could say anything my phone buzzed with a text from Lou, distracting me.
Louise: Everything’s ready. Cade will take you to the airstrip. Be safe.
I typed back a quick thank you message and hurried back to my seat before August could find me eavesdropping. A few moments later, he stepped out of the room with a large duffel bag and nodded to tell me he had everything.
We talked on our way down the stairs and made conversation with Cade once we stepped into the waiting town car, but I couldn’t pay attention to what was being said. All I could think about was River and the way he’d said I see how you look at her.
How did August look at me? And did I want him to keep on looking?
My fingers curled into my palms and squeezed tightly, the sharp bite of pain grounding me as I watched the city fade outside the window.
It didn’t matter either way, I reasoned. I had bigger problems than what August did or didn’t think of me. He would probably take one look at where we were going, spend a night if that, and be back to his city life faster than I could blink once he realized that I didn’t need saving.
I could save myself just fine.