Resentment.
Rage.
Despair.
The silence drags on for far too long. It’s obvious he is just as startled to find me here as I am to see him. Neither of us knows where to begin.
What do you say to someone you thought you’d never see again?
“What are you doing here?” Carter rasps finally, his spine ramrod straight with tension.
“What amIdoing here? What areyoudoing here? You’re supposed to be in Switzerland.”
“I came back.”
“Clearly.”
I bite my tongue to contain the words clawing their way up my throat. I want to ask why he returned to Germania and didn’t bother to tell me. I want to ask why he’s hiding in his childhood home like a fugitive. I want to ask if he missed me, these long weeks we have been apart.
“Did you know I was here?”
I flinch at the question. “Of course not. You think I’d ambush you, after the way we left things?”
“So this is just a random coincidence?”
“No,” I mutter. “This isChloe. She must’ve known you were here and…” I trail off.
And decided to ‘Parent Trap’ us.
His scowl intensifies. I wish it didn’t look so sexy on him. “I should’ve known better than to tell her I was back in Germania.”
“Ah yes, god forbid anyone is aware the elusive Carter Thorne has returned to his homeland.” My eyes narrow. “Why did you come back, then? Clearly not to see your family.”
Not to see me.
He glances away, breaking eye contact with a swift jerk of his head. I study his face in profile — the sharpness of his jaw, the proud bridge of his nose, the supple slope of his lips. He’s so handsome in the flickering firelight, it’s hard to look at him directly without feeling my knees go weak.
“Well?” I prompt, swallowing hard. “What are you doing here, Carter?”
“Exercising my constitutional rights.”
“What?”
His eyes meet mine again. They’re guarded now; carefully blank of all emotion. So is his voice. Each word comes out like a bullet from the chamber of a gun.
“I came back to cast my vote in your referendum.”
My mouth opens. Shuts. Opens again. I search for words, but they’ve all vanished. Of all the things I expected him to say in this moment…votingdidn’t even make the list.
“I may not be able to stand publicly by your side, but this…” His hand clenches, a tight ball of tension. “This, I could do.”
“Why?” I whisper haltingly.
“Emilia.” The catch in his voice breaks my heart. “You know why.”
He came back for me.
To support me, the only way he could.