Page 48 of Take What You Want

“Do you want anything to drink?” I ask as we walk through the kitchen. She’s been here before, so she doesn’t need a full tour.

“Water’s fine. I’m kinda tired.” Her words are hollow.

“Jane—”

“You don’t owe me an explanation.”

I slide her a water bottle across the counter and lean against it. “I know, but I want to.”

She takes a sip and waits expectantly.

“Kerra wants to do a PR relationship to go along with the single.”

“I figured as much.”

“But I don’t want to.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” I say, my chest squeezing. “She’s not the one I’m interested in.”

Jane immediately shakes her head, looking at the bottle in her hands.

“I know we have a lot to talk about?—”

“We don’t actually. The past is the past. We’ve both moved on,” she says quietly, and I’m not sure if she’s trying to convince me or herself.

“I haven?—”

“Stop. Don’t finish that sentence. You moved on. Time and time and time again.” Her eyes burn with so much hurt and resentment that it sets my nerves on fire.

I grip the counter to resist from reaching out to grab her. “I had to watch you move on, too.”

She steels her spine. “As I said, the past is the past.”

“What do you think I should do?”

Her brow dips in confusion.

“About Kerra.”

She laughs bitterly. “I shouldn’t be the one you ask about that. Like Arun said, you need to make that decision for yourself.”

I know that. I know that no one else can decide this for me, but for once, I’m trying to keep a reign on my impulsivity and be smart about this.

“I’d still like to know what you think,” I say.

She brushes me off. “It doesn’t matter what I think.”

“Italwaysmatters to me what you think.”

Silence stretches between us as my words hang in the air. The house is quiet, as if even it is holding its breath, waiting for Jane’s reaction.

A stone sinks in my gut as she breaks eye contact and clears her throat. “Can you show me which room I’ll be in? I’d like to get some rest.”

It’s still early in the evening, but I don’t bother pointing that out to her. She’s clearly needing some space, and maybe that’s for the best right now.

“Sure.”

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