“Thanks,” he says, tone controlled.
Too controlled.
Bella is already talking a mile a minute, grabbing dumplings and replaying parts of the track on her phone.
But David?
He’s watching.
Watching me.
Watching the space between Jake and me.
There’s something dark in his eyes.
Something possessive.
And it hits me all over again.
I move away, just a small step, but I take it.
Then Jake moves closer and hands me a container.
Our fingers brush.
It’s nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
But when I glance at David?
Oh.
Oh shit.
His shoulders go rigid.
And for a second, I feel like I just committed adultery.
But I feel something else, too. Something dangerous.
Hope sparks in my chest so fast it almost hurts.
Because that look?
That’s not casual.
That’s not indifferent.
That’s not a man who kissed me on a whim.
That’s a man who does not like the idea of someone else standing too close.
And suddenly—maybe I do believe in magic after all.
And maybe I’m not the only one who’s in trouble here.
Chapter Seventeen