Page 45 of A Sin So Pure

Her hot breath tickles my ear, my spine shivering on instinct. My breath catches in my throat when our eyes meet over my shoulder.

“You’re here.”

“I’m here.”

I blink. “Why?”

“I want an explanation.” Her eyes dart down to my lips. “So, I came to talk.”

“Oh.”

Time slows as we sit in this moment, our breathing in sync.

Nora shifts, pulling away from me and sitting in the empty seat to my right. The night has slowed, the bar empty given the late hour. The slow croon of the band has stopped, the musicians packing away their equipment. The staff have disappeared to the back room.

We’re alone.

“I’m sorry—” I say.

“—I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did,” Nora says at the same time.

“What?” Shock jolts through me.

Nora clears her throat. “My words and tone the other day. They weren’t kind. And I want to apolog?—”

“I forgive you.”

“I didn’t even say the words yet.”

“You don’t have to. It hurt, but I can’t argue that your anger wasn’t justified,” I say, maybe too quickly. Nora is not the type to say it out loud. Actions are her language; the fact that she came to talk at all speaks volumes. “You’re not the one who needs to apologize. I’ve wanted to—need to—make sure you know how sorry I am. I just didn’t know if youwanted to hear it.”

She sighs, resting her chin on her gloved hand. We’re huddled close together, leaning into each other like two lovers.

Our bodies don’t get the message that we’re fighting.

“I’m still pissed,” she says tentatively.

I nod.

“But I want to hear why,” she finishes; the words are slow and gritted out between clenched teeth.

“Josie came to ask why too,” I say.

“I know.”

“Did she tell you?”

“I want to hear it from you.”

I nod, looking down at my hands. They tremble, clenched together. I bite my bottom lip, tugging at the raw skin there.

“You remember when my brother died?”

“Yes,” she says. And while I’m still staring at my shaking hands, I know her brows furrow from the question in her tone.

“It wasn’t as simple as an automobile accident,” I say. “Some Royal got upset that my mother had dirt on him. The party was a set up and their crash was planned.”

Nora’s huff of laughter is cynical. “Greed?”

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