“Do you think I was too harsh?” I ask before I can stop myself. “At the house. With Bella. With my parents.”
He studies my face for a long beat.
“I think,” he says carefully, “that if anything, you pulled your punches. You had enough evidence to crater Bella’s entire brand and send your parents’ social circle into orbit. Instead, you drew a line and promised to keep everything private as long as they didn’t cross it.” He lifts one shoulder. “That’s not harsh. That’s generous. It’s also smart.”
The words settle over my skin like a blanket that’s still warm from the dryer. I didn’t realize how much I needed someone to say it out loud.
“I feel…weirdly calm,” I confess. “Like I’m standing in the eye of a hurricane. There’s chaos everywhere else, but in here it’s…quiet.”
He brushes his thumb along my jaw, tracing the faint stress line that has lived there since February. “That’s what it feels like when you stop trying to hold up a house that’s already collapsing,” he says. “You step outside, and you realize the wind you’re hearing isn’t yours to control.”
I swallow. “They’re going to hate me.”“They already treated you like they did,” he says, without bitterness. Just fact. “The difference now is that you finally believe them.”
A bitter little laugh escapes me. “Merry Christmas to me.”
Nate’s mouth softens. “Hey. You gave yourself a gift tonight. You walked out of a place that has been hurting you your whole life. You chose you. That’s not nothing, Care.”
He always calls me that when he’s trying to remind me who I am underneath whatever story my parents are selling.
“Come on,” he says. “My mom is dying to FaceTime and ask if you survived the Montgomery mansion unscathed. Let’s give her the rated-PG-13 version.”
I groan. “She’ll make that little disapproving noise she does.”
“She will,” he agrees. “And then she’ll ask if we want to come to Seattle for New Year’s, and you’ll pretend to think about it even though I already bought the tickets.”
I blink. “You what?”
His grin is unapologetic. “Contingency planning. Best case, your family turned into decent people and we could have used the flights for a fun couples trip. Worst case…” he gestures to the shredded check. “We go spend New Year’s with people who actually know how to love you.”
Something in my chest loosens further, like a knot finally giving way. “You already bought the tickets,” I repeat, shaking my head. “Of course you did.”
“What can I say?” He kisses my forehead. “I like to think three steps ahead. Must be all the time I spend with a certain architect.”
For Complete Cooking STEPS Please Head On Over To Next Page Or Open button (>) and don’t forget to SHARE with your Facebook friends.
