After that, we got our brows threaded, because pain apparently liked company. By the time she dropped me back at the salon to pick up my car, night had settled in for real. My bags cut into my fingers. My feet hurt in that satisfying, well-spent way. My face still held the remnants of annoyance, but softer now.
And there he was.
Parked at the curb, Micah’s Black Benz sat gleaming under the streetlight, dark and still, like it had been there long enough to become part of the block.
I stopped on the walkway because I had not told him to come, had not expected him to, and Lord only knew how long he had been sitting out there waiting.
The driver’s door opened before I reached the steps.
Micah got out slowly, eyes on me, face quieter than usual. No little line ready. No smile trying to loosen the room before we got in it. Just him, serious and steady, coming toward me like he had already decided he was not leaving this alone.
He took the shopping bags from my hands without asking.
“You went shopping,” he said.
“With Kendra.”
That was all.
No kiss. No playing in my face. No trying to sweet-talk me out of where I was.
He carried the bags to my car, put them in the back seat, and waited while I unlocked my door.
“You following me?” I asked.
“Yes.”
No hesitation. No question tucked under it. Just yes.
Something in my chest shifted, but I didn’t give it too much room yet. I got in my car, started the engine, and pulled away from the salon with his headlights following behind me all the way back to my townhouse.
Inside, we moved through the little motions that had started to feel regular with us. Me unlocking the door. Him bringing in the bags and setting them by the console. Me slipping off my shoes. Him looking toward the kitchen like maybe he should offer food, water, something useful. Both of us quiet. Both of us knowing this was not a regular night no matter how normal we tried to move through it.
I headed for the bedroom first because I needed to change before I dealt with him. Needed a second where my hands were busy and my heart could mind its damn business.
I made it as far as the hall before his voice caught me.
“Talia.”
I kept going anyway.
Not to be mean.
I just wasn’t ready yet.
By the time I got to my room, I could hear his footsteps behind me. I dropped the shopping bags on the bed and reached for the zipper at my back like getting out of my dress was suddenly the most pressing thing in my life.
He caught my wrists before I got it halfway down.
Not rough.
Just enough to stop me from acting like I had something better to do than hear him.
“Come here.”
I looked up at him.
His face was so open it almost made me mad all over again.