Page 82 of The Silent Hour

I fell silent. She moved to the window, staring down at the waking city. I couldn’t see her face—that drove me mad.

“I pulled away,” I said quietly. “Told her it wasn’t acceptable. Made sure she had a car coming. She left.”

Julia’s voice was eerily calm. “And you?”

“Went back to the guys.”

“No more touching or secret conversation after?”

“No.”

She nodded once. “Okay.”

Again with that word.

“Lia, look at me.” Slowly, she did and I wished she hadn’t.

There were tears in her eyes—molten against the taut curve of her lower lids—but none fell, held back by pure stubbornness. I stepped toward her, each footfall soft against the carpeted floor.

“Don’t.”

I freeze mid-stride, air catching in my lungs.

Her laugh was brittle, empty of humor. “See? Apparently you can listen when a woman tells you not to do something. I told you not to be alone with her.”

“I know.” My voice was small, hushed.

“Not because I thought you’d fuck her. I wasn’t worried about my husband cheating on me, Ethan. I was worried about Cortez. About manipulation. About allegations. About someone creating a situation that could be twisted against you.”

“I know.”

She exhaled, folding her arms across her chest so tightly I almost hear her bones creak. “And somehow you managed to create one all by yourself.”

Silence bloomed around us.

“I don’t know why I did it,” I admit, voice rough.

Her eyes snap up. “Then figure it the fuck out.”

I go still. The hum of the air conditioner fills the space between us.

“‘Because I’m tired’ isn’t an answer. ‘She kissed me first’ isn’t an answer. ‘I was stressed about Cortez’ isn’t an answer. Those are circumstances.” Her voice hardens, each word a hammer. “I want the reason my husband put his mouth on another woman.”

I have none. For once, words fail me. “I don’t know yet.”

“Then that’s your problem to solve.”

Panic flares in my chest. “Lia—.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

Her calm assurance should’ve comforted me, but it only made my heart hammer harder.

“I’m going downstairs.”

“Why?”

Her brows lifted. “Because I drove all the way into Miami with breakfast, your clothes, and enough coffee to resurrect Knox, and I’m not turning around because you decided to have a temporary lapse in fucking sense. Also, Serena is probably already here.”