I found my seat in the back, same as before, and pulled out my tablet to review player files. Routine. Normal. The kind of work that kept my hands busy while my brain replayed every moment of last night on an endless loop.
Nancy dropped into the seat beside me, her eyebrow already raised in that knowing way she had.
"You're glowing," she said flatly.
"I'm not glowing."
"You're absolutely glowing. It's disgusting." She pulled out a bag of pretzels and ripped it open with more force than necessary. "I take it coffee went well?"
I felt heat creep up my neck. "We just talked."
"Uh-huh." She popped a pretzel into her mouth, chewing slowly. "And that's why you've checked your phone four times in the last two minutes?"
I hadn't realized I was doing it. I shoved the phone into my pocket, mortified.
"It's fine," Nancy said, her voice softening. "You're allowed to be happy, Cinder. It's not a crime."
"I know that."
"Do you?" She studied me with those sharp eyes that saw too much. "Because you look like you're waiting for something terrible to happen."
She wasn't wrong. Even now, with the taste of Taz still lingering in my memory, part of me was braced for impact. For the other shoe. For the moment when everything good turned to ash in my hands. "Old habits," I said quietly.
"Yeah." She squeezed my arm. "Well, maybe it's time for some new ones."
The plane leveled off, and I let myself glance toward the front of the cabin. Taz sat with Max and Keegan, his head bent over something on his phone. As if sensing my attention, he looked up.
Our eyes met.
He didn't smile—not exactly. But something in his expression shifted, warmed, and I felt it all the way in my chest. A promise. A recognition.
I see you.
I looked away first, my heart hammering, and pretended to focus on my tablet while Nancy made a sound that was suspiciously close to a laugh.
"New habits," she repeated. "Starting now."
The hotel in Phoenix was nice—modern, all glass and clean lines, with a lobby that smelled like eucalyptus and money. Ichecked in with the rest of the medical staff, got my room key, and was halfway to the elevator when a hand caught my elbow.
Taz.
"Hey," he said, his voice low enough that only I could hear. "You okay?"
"Fine." I glanced around, suddenly aware of how many people were milling through the lobby. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"You seemed... distant. On the plane."
"I was working."
His mouth twitched. "You were staring at the same page for twenty minutes."
Damn. He'd noticed.
"I'm just..." I exhaled slowly, trying to find the right words. "Processing. Last night was a lot." The goodbye this morning had been hurried, shy.
"Good a lot or bad a lot?"
"Good." I met his eyes, letting him see the truth there. "Definitely good. I'm just not used to good, I guess."