Page 139 of Only Be Mine

A knock.

Not loud or urgent, just firm enough to say, I’m here.

My breath caught.

The knock came again, louder this time.

I didn’t need to look through the window to know who it was.

Seth.

I stayed frozen on the couch, heart pounding, the weight of the last twenty-four hours pressing down on my shoulders. Part of me wanted to stay exactly where I was, to hold onto the quiet just a little longer.

The knock came a third time.

“Cate?” His voice carried through the door, careful. “I know you’re in there.”

I closed my eyes.

The waiting was over.

Chapter 51

Cate

Present

Seth stood on the porch, shoulders tense, eyes scanning past me like he expected someone else to step into view. Relief crossed his face when he saw me upright, still breathing, like he expected something else.

“Hey,” he said softly.

I stepped aside without thinking, letting him in. The air shifted as soon as the door closed behind him, the house losing whatever fragile stillness it had been clinging to.

“You scared the hell out of me,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “You didn’t answer your phone. Yesterday, or this morning.”

“I know,” I said. “I’m sorry.”

He didn’t argue. Just nodded once.

“I listened to the messages,” I added.

His jaw tightened. “All of them?”

“Yes.”

He exhaled slowly. “Okay.”

We stood there for a moment, neither of us moving farther into the house, like crossing that invisible line would make things heavier.

“He wants to meet,” I said. “The detective. Today.”

“I figured.” He hesitated. “Cate… did you tell Trevor?”

“No,” I said. “Not yet.”

Seth nodded again, slower this time. “Okay.”

He didn’t tell me I should have. He didn’t ask why I didn’t. He just accepted it the way he always had, like my instincts deserved to be trusted.