**Jax**
She glanced from Trent to me then to the broken tree a few feet away. "Can we talk?"
Trent gave me a tight, "you know what you have to do" smile, and said, "I'll give you two some privacy." Then he left.
Normally, I'd be thrilled to be alone with Piper, but right now I had no idea how to act around her or what to say. She already knew how I felt, so repeating it wouldn't do any good. So, instead of running my mouth, I stayed silent and waited for her to speak.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this sooner. I'm sure it came as a shock to you."
I huffed. "That's one way to put it." I crossed my arms.
She closed the distance between us, and the heat from her body wrapped around me, chilling some of the icy-hot rage burning in my veins. "I'm so sorry, Jax," she whispered. "You have no idea how badly I wish things were different."