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Jess stiffened, her head tilting ever so slightly in acknowledgment, but she didn’t turn around.

“I’m sorry for what I said the other day,” Sam continued, her pulse racing. “About how things were when we first met.”

Jess turned to look at her then, her brow furrowing in confusion as if that specific apology was the last thing she’d expected. “What?”

Sam swallowed hard, wondering where she’d gone wrong. “I didn’t mean to—” she stammered, her voice catching as Jess stared up at her, eyes narrowed in a deep, questioning gaze.

She wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to say. But she needed to say something. She couldn’t leave their last conversation untouched. Not when those words had so clearly hurt Jess.

“Sam,” Jess said, her tone soft but firm. She stepped closer, her eyes searching Sam’s face. “Did you mean what you said?”

Sam stiffened, the question twisting into her gut. She thought back to the argument, to every word she’d spoken. She had meant it—all of it. But she hadn’t meant to upset her, to bring up old wounds in a way that felt so raw.

“Yeah,” Sam admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. She dropped her gaze to the sidewalk, unable to meet Jess’ eyes. “But I’m sorry for how I said it. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Jess sighed, her expression softening. “Of course it hurt.” She looked down at the ground between them, staring for a long moment. “I didn’t realize how much I’d hurt you back then. And I hated knowing I’d done that. But—” She stepped closer, hervoice lowering. “You don’t need to apologize for telling me the truth.”

Sam blinked, her throat tightening as the words washed over her.

“Listen to me,” Jess said firmly, enunciating every word.

She stared deeply into her eyes, like she was trying to force her to understand something even deeper than what was between them. Like all she needed in the world at that moment was for her to listen. To really hear what she was about to say.

“Sam, it wasn’t your fault.”

The intensity in her voice settled deep in Sam’s chest, a balm to the rawness she hadn’t realized was still there. And by the way she said it, the deep look in her eyes, she wondered if she was still talking about them. Or if she was talking about something else entirely.

She nodded slowly, her lips parting to say something, but before she could, Jess’ gaze shifted, her guarded walls sliding back into place.

“I have to go,” Jess said, stepping back. Her voice was steady, but the way she avoided her eyes was enough to let her know how forced that was.

Jess swallowed, her jaw flickering. “Good luck with everything.”

Then she turned and walked away, her figure disappearing into the crowd.

***

The coffee was lukewarm, barely touched as it sat between her and Caleb on the conference room table. The papers spread out before them blurred together in her mind—legal jargon and dotted lines that felt more like shackles than opportunities.

“Okay,” Caleb said, staring down at the organized chaos, “so remember, we need to ask about the details on page three.” He flipped through the copy of the agreement he’d printed and scribbled notes all over. “And we probably need to clarify this section on page twelve, also.”

Sam sipped the stale coffee, barely processing what he’d said as her mind replayed the run in with Jess that morning.

She looked up, blinking, when she realized he’d gone quiet.

He stared at her, as if waiting for an answer to a question she’d missed.

“Sorry,” she muttered, straightening up in the chair. “What?”

He let out a deep sigh, dropping his pen on the table as he leaned back. “Okay, what’s going on?”

“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head. “Keep going. I’m listening.”

He frowned. “You haven’t listened to a single thing I’ve said since you got back.”

She sighed, grinding a palm into her tired eyes. “I’m sorry. I just—I feel like I can’t think straight right now.”

He watched her for a moment, then flipped the stapled contract closed. “Wanna take a break and go over some of the other work stuff we need to talk about instead?”