Page 157 of The Future Play

He sets me down and brushes his thumb over my cheek, looking into my eyes.

“I missed you.”

I open my mouth to respond, but he steals my words as he slants his mouth over mine, swallowing the squeak of happiness I emit.

He doesn’t linger—which is good because there are reporters watching—but it’s enough to show me exactly how much he missed me.

“Ready to go?” he asks.

“Yes, please.”

He takes my hand and leads me to the waiting car. Once we’re inside, he pulls me against him, holding me tightly. I rest my head on his shoulder and bask in the easy comfort that I’ve missed.

He’s quieter than I was expecting, his thumb rubbing up and down my arm as he holds me.

His breath hitches and his chest shakes, making me lift my head so I can look at him.

He pinches the bridge of his nose and sniffs.

“Sorry.”

I move closer, my achy heart clawing to reach his.

“It’s okay. I’m here. We’re together.”

He sniffs again, resting his head against mine and curling his fingers through my hair.

This isn’t what I was expecting. Maybe stupidly, I was expecting an immediate show. An immediate apology and for him to try to show me everything will be okay.

But outside of the last couple of months, that’s never been Jamie. When he sits in the quiet and recognizes the problem, he doesn’t use words to fix it, he uses action.

This tiny, quiet moment shows me more than any words could how sorry he is.

We hold each other, emotion swirling around us, for a bit longer, until the car pulls to the stop.

Jamie takes a big breath and wipes his eyes. “We’re here.”

My brow furrows. As nice as it was to get lost in that moment, I didn’t completely get lost. It hasn’t been anywhere near the length of time it takes for us to get to our apartment.

“Where are we?”

He opens the door and takes my hand. “Trust me?”

The sincerity and hope in his eyes undoes me.

My heart pounds harder, the truth sounding in every beat.

“Yes.”

I swear he breathes out a sigh of relief. “Come on.”

We get out of the car in front of a three-story building in asmaller, relaxed neighborhood. It’s more rustic than where our apartment is, but not run down.

“Seriously, where are we?” I ask again, but this time because I like it. It’s somewhere I could come and explore before Jamie’s games if it’s that close.

“Let me show you.”

He pulls out a key card that allows him inside the building, then gets out a regular key to unlock the next set of double doors.

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