Page 74 of Surrender
Lucy gave me a warm smile, one of those all-knowing best-friend looks, and I rolled my eyes. “What?”
She shook her head. “You always saw past it,” she commented, and I frowned, genuinely confused this time. “While he was busy scowling at the world, trying to keep people away, you saw the kid who needed someone. And I bet James did too.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the door creaked open behind us, the sound echoing across the glossy floors and mirrored walls before I could speak.
We both turned, and Lucy’s face lit up. “Speak of the devils,” she whispered happily, though her smile instantly slipped away when Callan lifted his foot to step into the room. “Don’t you dare put those work boots on my dance floor, Callan Scott!”
She shot up from the floor like a rocket, and Callan stumbled back, his hands raised in surrender as Lucy stormed across the studio toward him. Nate, already one step ahead, had kicked off his shoes in the foyer and slipped past them easily, calm and collected.
“I knew I’d trained you well,” I teased with a grin and a wink.
Nate walked toward me with that steady, quiet confidence that always made my stomach tighten in the best kind of way.
“I learned my lesson that time your dad built you that square of flooring for your room to practice turns,” he said, leaning casually on thebarre.“James scuffed the shit out of it, pretending he was Michael Flatley,Lord of the Dance. Your dad almost burst a vein in his neck.”
“Oh my God, yes!” I laughed, shaking my head. “I blame that on Mom for trying to force him to take up Highland dancing when he was seven.”
He held out his hand and I took it, letting him pull me, almost effortlessly, to my feet.
He didn’t let go.
“You okay?” he asked softly, voice low, just for me.
My head fell to the side. “Yeah, why?”
His eyes shifted to the door, and I followed his gaze to where Lucy and Callan had their heads together, both with seriously tense expressions. My heart dropped, and Nate tugged my hand, snapping my attention back to him.
“What’s going on?” I asked, trying not to get ahead of myself, but unease had already taken over, making it hard to focus. “What’s happening?”
Nate reached up, cupping the back of my neck gently and grounding me with a soft squeeze. “Easy, Tiny Dancer,” he murmured, pressing a light kiss to my forehead. “There’s something I’ve gotta tell you, but I need you to look at me.”
My chest started to heave with each uneven breath, but I forced myself to look up into his eyes. They were eyes I trusted that made me feel safe.
I nodded, standing tall and holding his gaze even though my body screamed at me to run. “Okay, I’m ready.”
Lucy and Callan approached, hand in hand, but completely silent.
Nate cleared his throat, his jaw tight and twitching as if the words in his mouth tasted sour. “The house is gone.”
I didn’t understand.
Which house?
Where’s it gone?
My eyes flickered to Callan and Lucy, trying to assess their expressions before finally looking up at Nate with a deep frown. “I don’t… what do you mean?”
“We went by your house,” he tried again. “Callan wanted to take a look at the outside so he could price renovations out a little better.”
I licked my lips. “Okay…”
Nate shook his head slowly. “It’s been leveled. Someone demolished it.”
For a second, it felt like I was listening to him speak another language. My brain refused to process the words or believe what I was hearing.
“I just…” I whispered, struggling to find the words. “I spoke to the bank this morning. She said everything was looking on track to be approved, but it would still take a little bit longer.”
“It sounds like the homeowners changed their mind about holding onto it for you,” Lucy said, her nose scrunched up in disgust. “Who the hell…” Her voice faded, and I could see her click at the same time as I did.
