Page 132 of Eight Years Gone

She was supposed to have paid attention to the time and made Jagger his favorite brownies. They were supposed to have eaten dinner while they discussed her mother’s journal entry and concluded that it was all a big mistake. Then they were supposed to have moved on to the master suite so she could properly welcome him home. She’d even snagged some organic rose petals from the shop to run them a sexy second-dessert bath.

But Jagger definitely wasn’t supposed to have left.

Grabbing her purse, she hurried for the door, needing to fix her mistake.

She’d never meant to make Jagger mad. This whole situation was a first for her—for both of them. She’d never lost her father to a tragic accident, then wondered if he’d fathered another child. She’d never kept such a big worry to herself—at least not from Jagger.

She and Jagger had argued before—of course, they had—but he’d never ever left before they worked stuff out.

Getting in her Kia, she drove the two miles to Todd’s, letting her shoulders slightly relax when she spotted Jagger’s Stingray.

Wasting no time, she ran up the steps to his apartment, giving a quick knock and turning the knob before he had a chance to decide if he would let her in.

She stepped inside the small efficiency space Jagger rarely used, watching as he pulled a long-sleeve T-shirt over his head.

He tossed her a glance from cool eyes as he toed off his dress shoes.

She swallowed because he’d never looked at her like that. “Can we talk?”

“I’m heading out for a run.”

“Jagger, I’m sorry.”

“I thought we were getting somewhere—that we’d moved past you not trusting me.”

She blinked at him, shocked by his words. “I do trust you.”

He went after the snap on his slacks. “No, you don’t. Maybe you can’t anymore.”

“Jagger.” She shook her head, growing slightly afraid of his dismissive tone—another thing that was new. “I didn’t want to bother you with something so crazy—or at least I thought it was crazy. I didn’t want to keep you from your job.”

“So, you lied to me instead?”

Now she gaped. “I didn’t lie to you. I was handling the situation on my own. I heard you tell Jason you weren’t taking jobs because of me. I knew you wouldn’t have gone if I’d told you about the journal.”

“You’re damn straight I wouldn’t have gone.”

“But I wanted you to. You need to be happy too.”

“I am happy. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“I’m not going to hold you back,” she said in a fierce whisper as her voice grew thick with emotion. Shaking her head again, she turned for the door.

“Grace.”

Ignoring him, she reached for the doorknob.

He snagged her by the arm. “Gracie.”

She turned. “What?”

He pulled her closer. “We’ve talked about this.”

She shrugged.

He tugged again, pulling her against him with his arm wrapped around her waist. “You’re not holding me back.”

She blinked as her eyes grew teary. “When you’re not doing your job because of me, I am.”

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