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“Julian. Don’t tell me you’ve been sitting out here in the freezing cold all this time? Waiting for me? Why?”

Why?

If I’m being completely honest with myself, I don’t fucking know. I don’t have a rational answer for her. I traded a glass of whiskey to sit on a cold stone wall for two hours and wait for her. It sounds absolutely deranged when you think about it.

“To be honest, Bow-Peep…” I mutter as I look into her eyes. “That is a very good question. If you figure out the answer, let me know.”

The air between us goes completely thick, charged with a heavy yearning that makes my chest tighten. Before my brain can think, my hand moves on its own.

I reach out and take her hand.

Her skin is numb against mine, but as my fingers slide down past her palm, I can feel the frantic thudding of her pulse. I hold her there and stroke the delicate skin with the pad of my thumb, slowly and deeply.

It’s a devastatingly intimate gesture.

Far more intimate than anything I’ve ever done with anyone else in my life. I’m not used to this feeling or any of this absolute chaos she brings with her.

Ellise doesn’t pull away, she doesn’t even flinch at the pressure of my fingers. She stands entirely still as she watches my thumb move over her wrist. When she finally looks up, her bright blue eyes sparkle in the moonlight. She searches my face for an explanation I am completely incapable of giving her.

I stare down at her face, my thumb lingering against her skin, before I slowly let go and place her hand gently back down by her side.

This girl is too much. This entire situation is too much for my sanity.

“Sleep well, Bow-Peep,” I say, deliberately taking a step backward.

She lingers slightly, giving me one last opportunity to say something, but the words don’t come. Not tonight, anyway.

“Goodnight, Julian,” she whispers. “Thanks for walking me home.”

19

Ellise

He waited for me.

The arrogant and untouchable Julian Thorne sat out there on a freezing slab of stone for nearly two hours waiting for me to walk through the doors.

And, for what? To walk me back to my building? To make sure I didn’t get kidnapped or freeze? It doesn’t make sense.

What is happening to us?

What is he doing?

My phone vibrates violently against the wood of my desk, its sharp buzzing cutting through the agonising loop of my thoughts.

MADDIE

Spill now.

Spill what? I’m literally trying to write a paper on Handel.

Don’t play that game with me. I saw him.

Saw who? What are you talking about?

Don’t lie. I saw him from the window at 1:00AM. Girl, don’t play with me. I saw him touch you!

It was nothing!