Page 47 of Come Break My Heart Again

“People are good,” she finally answers. “People just graduated law school.”

“Law school, huh?”

“First in her class at Harvard.”

I nod. “Thanks for … thanks.”

“See you around.” Keira continues walking.

I take a long sip of the coffee she brought. It’s good—a hell of a lot better than the sludge I brewed this morning.

Then, I head for the back door to find out what Tuck has deemed top priority for today.

10

I’m making him uncomfortable.

Ryder’s shoulders are tense as he drives my convertible, his fingers curled tightly around the steering wheel. I should feel bad about his unease. Stop my blatant staring. But too much of me is thrilled by his reaction. By the knowledge that I still affect him in any way. Ryder is a hard person to rattle. He’s confident and controlled and assured.

A couple of blocks from the elementary school, we hit a red at one of Fernwood’s few stoplights.

Ryder glances over, meeting my gaze straight on. “What?”

“What?” I repeat.

“You’re staring.”

“I know.”

“Why?”

I lift one shoulder, then let it drop. “I like looking at you.”

I’ve said a lot tonight that I shouldn’t have. Most I’ll likely regret when I wake up sober tomorrow. But I like being honest with Ryder. I like the way he stares at me after the truth spills out, like my honesty is something precious to him.

He says nothing in response, just continues scanning my face like he’s looking for a different answer. Searching for a lie.

Then, the light turns green, and we’re moving again, the playground where his brother is waiting appearing on the right a few seconds later.

Ryder pulls off into the space reserved for school buses during daylight hours and turns off my car. “I’ll be right back.”

I slouch down in the passenger seat and rest my bare feet on the dashboard. I kicked my shoes off a few minutes into the drive. “Take your time.”

Ryder shakes his head a little before climbing out of the driver’s side. I watch as he strides across the sidewalk toward the mulch. The group of kids loitering by the swings look too young to beawakethis late, let alone out here by themselves.

I wonder if Cormac has done this before. If Ryder ever did this.

Sometimes, it feels like our lives aren’t that different. Other moments, it seems like we’re from different worlds. This is an example of the latter, where I feel sheltered and naive for being surprised about this scene.

My phone won’t stop buzzing, so I pull it out, scanning the most recent messages.

JULIET: You were right.

JULIET: Alec was a mistake.

KEIRA: What happened?

MADDIE: Are you guys outside?

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