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Then, before I could reply, he hooked an arm around my shoulders, tucking me against his sweaty, overheated body.

I didn’t squirm even though I should’ve.

Instead, I let myself sink into him, falling into step beside him as we headed toward the back stairs.

My heart pinched at the casual intimacy of it—at the way his warmth seeped into me like something familiar.

I was happy.

This feeling—this peace—was something I hadn’t felt in years.

With Colton, I felt alive. Electric.

And now, with the last event behind me and the last day of this job looming over my head…

I had a sinking feeling I wouldn’t be happy for much longer.

Chapter 40

Colton

“FUCK IT.”

Chapter 41

Colton

MY KNUCKLES RAPPED against the heavy wooden door, but standing still felt impossible.

I paced back and forth, hands shoved into my pockets, heart pounding in my chest. My mind was running a mile a minute, every thought colliding into the next, unsure where to start, what to say first.

I’d been thinking, a lot. Thinking about her.

Thinking about how the hell I could convince Eleanor that this here, with me, was where she belonged.

After the talent show, I didn’t get a single ounce of sleep. My thoughts were too loud, my nerves too shot. And now, she was leaving.

Tomorrow, she’d be on a plane back to New York City.

And whatever this was between us? It would be gone.

Unless I could make her stay.

Leaving the west and going with Eleanor passed through my mind but I couldn’t. This is where everything I worked so hard for was, this is where I built myself from nothing into something and to leave it all behind felt wrong—no matter how in love with Eleanor I was.

I took a steadying breath, forcing my thoughts into silence. She deserved the truth that was unfiltered and raw, straight from the source. The problem was, I was a ball of fucking nerves.

Because I loved her.

I was madly in love with Eleanor.

I’d never felt this before—this pull, this connection that defied all logic. And I was about to lose it.

How the hell was I supposed to go on, knowing what it felt like to love her? Knowing what it felt like to be loved in return, because I knew she loved me too.

The door swung open, and suddenly, all I could see was her rosy cheeks, pouty lips, and wide eyes full of surprise.

Before she could even get a word out, I stepped inside, moving past her in a blur of pent-up frustration and desperation. I spun to face her—she was already staring at me like I’d lost my damn mind. The wind from my movement blew a stray strand of hair across her face.