Chapter 145 (2/2)

“Such a coincidence—neither do I. I’m just trying to figure out why there’s an asshole screaming in my driveway,” he says with a smile.

I nearly laugh at that. “Fuck off.”

“I take it she didn’t accept your apology?”

“Who says I gave an apology, or a reason to need one?”

“Because you’re you, and on top of that, you’re a man . . .” He salutes me and downs the rest of what’s in his glass. “We always have to apologize first. It’s the way it is.”

Letting out a hard breath, I say, “Yeah, well, she doesn’t want my apology.”

“Every woman wants an apology.”

I can’t get the image of her looking to Zed for comfort out of my mind. “Not mine . . . not her.”

“Fine, fine, fine,” Christian says, flapping his hands down. “Are you coming back inside?”

“No . . . I don’t know.” I shake the snow from my hair and push it back off my forehead.

“Ken . . . your dad and Karen are getting ready to leave.”

“And I give a shit . . . why?” I reply, and he chuckles.

“Your language never ceases to surprise me.”

I give him a grin. “What? You curse just as much as I do.”

“Exactly.” He puts his arm around my shoulders. And I surprise myself by letting him lead me back inside.

Chapter ninety-three

TESSA

I can’t sleep. I’ve been waking up every thirty minutes to check my phone to see if Hardin’s tried to contact me. Of course there’s nothing. I check my alarm again. I have classes tomorrow, so Zed’s going to take me back to Landon’s early enough to get ready and get to school on time.

When I try to close my eyes again, my mind races, remembering the way the dream Hardin pleaded with me to come home. Hearing it, dream or not, still kills me. After tossing and turning on the small couch, I decide to do what I should have done at the beginning of the night.

When I push Zed’s bedroom door open, I immediately hear his light snoring. He’s shirtless and lying on his stomach, with his arms folded under his head.

I’m waging an internal war with myself as he stirs in his sleep. “Tessa?” He sits up. “Are you okay?” He sounds panicked.

“Yeah . . . I’m sorry for waking you up . . . I was just wondering if maybe I could sleep in here?” I ask timidly.

He looks at me for a second before saying, “Yeah, of course.” Shifting his body a little, he makes sure there is plenty of room for me to lie down.

I try to ignore the fact that his bed doesn’t have a sheet on it. He’s a college boy, after all; not everyone is as neat as I am. He slides a pillow across the mattress, and I lie down next to him, the distance between us being less than a foot.