Page 83 of When Sky Breaks

He nods, that stubborn lock of hair hanging over his forehead before he pushes it away. “I think you’ll love her.”

Refusing to give me any more information, he stands and shoves his hands in his pockets, stepping back so I don’t run over his feet.

Before I raise the windows, he calls out, “Text me if you need anything. No matter what it is, I’ll get it for you.”

This time, I believe him.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

sky

August’s house.

It’s weird to say that, especially because most of the moments I spent with August were when he didn’t have four walls to even call a bedroom, let alone an entire two-bedroom modern cottage.

And all his. Just like he wanted.

I smother a junky cough and walk up the wooden steps to a porch, smiling at the rocking chairs and table to my left. There are two chairs as if he expected someone to sit out here with him.

One for me, maybe?

If the heart is a compass, it’s leading me straight to August as I step through his front door and into his domain with no hesitation under my feet.

Through my partially stuffy nose, I pick up his scent as I pass the threshold. It smells of Irish Spring, like he took a shower before he came over to my house. For reasons unknown, I thought he’d pick a different body wash as he got older, but the predictability of his hygiene offers me some weird comfort I can’t describe.

Without holding back, I drop my bag near the kitchen island and take an unfiltered tour of the house. This is his space, and I want to know the August that lives here, not a version I make up in my head.

The home is masculine with its wood accents and gray walls, a color that so closely reminds me of his eyes. Soft and warm, intuitive and blistering with the need to please. I know the feeling well. But I’m finally at the point where self-preservation takes a front seat to the people-pleasing part of me. With Johnny out of my life, there’s a freedom pressing against my ribcage, willing me to keep breathing, to keep moving toward what I want—who I want.

It’s difficult to stop the stinging from behind my eyes. August finally made something of himself. Despite every hurdle, he made a home.

I brush my fingers along the back of his cloth sofa and continue down the hall.

In one room, I peek in to find a guest bed, a nightstand, and a dresser. So that means the next door leads to his bedroom.

Closing that room, I swallow past the burn in my achy throat and push open his door.

Steam from the bathroom to my right coats the mirror, and the humid air in the room lays damp on my skin. A towel is thrown over the back of a chair near a window, and I purposely look away so I don’t think about August being naked under it moments before he came to my house.

Too late.

Looking at his made bed brings back those memories of sharing our bodies with each other. There’s an imprint from where he probably sat, and I graze my fingers over the fabric, fully wishing it was still warm from him. My skin begins to buzz and heat rises along my neck.

Before I roll around in his sheets like a cat in heat, I back up and close his door, leaning my feverish forehead against the cool wood.

Right. I should go take some meds.

On the kitchen island, August laid out a bunch of different bottles. Nasal decongestants, cough drops, and pain relievers all in a neat row next to a coffee mug and sugar packets. He thought of it all, and the mere presence of this level of care hits me in the chest. Past the junk, past the achy muscles and heavy head, a dopey smile breaks to the surface of my face.

A thunk on the back door makes me jump away from my mushy emotions.

A hand to my frantic heart, I slowly peek through the blinds. And gasp.

An enormous dog with shaggy white fur and dark brown eyes stares at me with a lolling pink tongue. Its black nose presses to the glass, the condensation fogging the door with each breath in and out.

My fingers tremble as I pull the door open and almost get bowled over by the pup’s excitement.

“Oh!” I say as the big body bumps into me and sits on my feet, head tilted back, presumably for some rubs.

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