Page 109 of Unbroken

Julian, though, didn’t take the denial as well. He looked at me for another beat or two, long enough to make me uncomfortable. But he finally blinked, and I swallowed.

“I should probably head back to my place.” My voice shook slightly, but only Devon picked up on it. He immediately stood with me.

“I’ll come with you.” I knew better than to argue. I didn’t want to argue anyway. Devon wanted to get out of there almost as badly as I did.

“I’m so sorry, Blakely,” Julian stammered. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomf?—

“You didn’t,” I said, lying through my teeth. He had made me uncomfortable, but I would not let him see that. Devon took my plate from my hands and rinsed both before slipping them into the sink.

Tato came to stand next to me at the end of the table and near the back door. Shelly pushed her chair back and stood, giving me a wide-eyed “help me” look as I stepped into her open arms.

“Don’t leave me here with them,” she whispered jokingly. I squeezed her tighter when she added, “I hope you know you can stay whenever you want and for however long.”

“Thank you,” I murmured back. She let go, and Devon kissed her on the cheek.

“Bye, Mom,” he said. Turning, he warily appraised the other two at the end of the table. “I’ll see you later, Syd.” His eyes jumped to Julian, and his teeth clenched. “Julian.”

He didn’t wait for a response, turning and striding out the back door without missing a beat. I awkwardly waved and followed Devon and Tato outside. They both stopped at the bottom of the stairs leading up to Devon’s apartment, and I swear Tato sighed with relief the same time Devon did.

“That was the worst,” I said, walking straight into Devon’s open arms.

He kissed the top of my head and took a deep breath as his arms wrapped around me. “It was,” he agreed. We stood there for several seconds until some of the tension had dissipated, and I felt like I could breathe normally again.

“Honestly, that question wouldn’t have bothered me so much if it weren’t for everything that happened last night. And the person asking it. He’s…strange.”

“Strange wasn’t the first word I would use, but I agree.”

I stepped back and glanced up at him. Tato had made his way up the wooden stairs and was glancing back and forth between us and the door in front of me, which he pawed at twice.

“They’re in the honeymoon phase,” I offered. “Who knows if it’ll last beyond that.”

“We can only hope,” he murmured, and his frustration at the situation was a little funny. He was so protective, and I couldn’t help the small smile creeping across my lips. He noticed it and shook his head. “This isn’t funny, Blake.”

“Nope, not funny at all.” My smile only widened. He leaned down and kissed me, which was the appropriate way to wipe the smile from my face because I couldn’t help but kiss him back.

“Let’s go,” he said, tugging me up the stairs.

“You don’t have to come with me.”

At the top of the stairs, he let Tato into his apartment and stopped me long enough to kiss me once more and whisper against my lips, “Try to stop me.”

FORTY-NINE

Blakely

I stompedup the flight of stairs and yanked open the door to Dr. Mann’s office. The waiting room was thankfully empty, but for Megan, who was sitting behind her desk, intently typing with her eyes narrowed on her computer screen.

“Hi, Blakely, it’s nice to see you. Dr. Mann is running a little behind, but if you want to take a seat?—”

I cut her off with a frustrated groan and glanced over her head at the clock on the wall. It was five minutes past my appointment time, which only made my irritation grow.

Begrudgingly, I slumped into the chair closest to her desk and tried not to appear as angry as I felt.

“I know it’s frustrating—he runs behind quite often, but at least he’s good at what he does,” Megan said. Her smile was small and apologetic, and although it didn’t help, I appreciated her attempt at curbing my frustration.

I nodded and barely managed a small smile back. “Sure.”

“And he’s a really good boss, too. He’s always been fair, even when he left?—”

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