Chapter 88

The day was deceptively clear, the sky blue and tranquil above, a slight wind picking up the loose hem of her blouse and flattening it against her stomach. Emma used the time it took her to walk up the path to the security-locked front door to carefully erect all her walls again. She was getting lax about doing that when she was outside of the museum. Being around Gideon and Jesse, and their express desires to let her in, had already started taking its toll.

Standing in front of the intercom, Emma took a deep breath before pressing the button for Ethan’s apartment. Her finger was shaking. Her walls were going to be useless. Ethan was going to know as soon as she stepped inside—if he even let her inside—that her head was a mess. He had always been astute in that way, if not in picking up on her growing feelings for Jesse and Gideon

Ethan didn’t answer immediately. When he finally spoke, his voice was rough and distant. “What do you want?”