Page 82 of Bound to a Killer

She laughs at my reaction. “Ding, ding, ding.”

“No…” I stare at her, stunned. “Why didn’t I ever know you two were childhood friends?”

She shrugs a shoulder, like it’s no big deal. “Just didn’t feel important enough to mention, I guess. Our moms used to be friends when we were younger. As we got older, we just drifted apart, and so did our parents.”

There’s a flicker, a faint quirk in her brow, but it’s gone in a blink. “So, anyway, we got closer again after what happened with Kels—” She cuts off mid-name, too late to take back.

The lightness drains from the room, the air turning thick with silence. My throat prickles, and for a second, I get an urge to crack a window open to see if the breeze might clear out the newly sparked tension between us.

She presses her thumb to the photo’s corner. “Anyways,” she says, her voice a little too chipper. “He wants to ask you to prom. He’s actually been interested in you for a while. It’s why he asked me for your number earlier this year.”

I go along, brushing past the earlier comment and zeroing in on the Jayce part instead. “His entire circle of friends hates me,” I mutter, brows drawing tight.

“Gabe doesn’t hate you,” she quickly jumps in.

I roll my eyes at that.

“Look,” she goes on. “Madison and Hunter are dickheads. That’s who you really mean. I get it. I gave Jayce shit for hanging around them, too, but I promise he’s nothing like them. Just give him a chance.”

I think back to yesterday when he approached me, how quick I was to dismiss him even though he did nothing wrong.

Just give him a chance.

Ledger drifts into my thoughts again as I sift through a row of hangers, looking for something to wear later. I hadn’t thought of him once during the conversation—not until she mentioned Kelsey.

My chest tightens with unresolved pain. He never cared about me. I know that now, but still, the ache settles in. I’m the reason he lost his friend. Why he almost lost his sister. I can’t blame him for not wanting anything to do with me after the dust settled. He’s gone now. Moved on.

Maybe I should try, too.

The door chimesopen as I wipe down the steamer wand with a damp cloth. “Sorry, our espresso machines are off for the evening,” I call out, tossing the cloth into a nearby bin.

I expect a random customer when I glance over the counter. Instead, I find Jayce. I tense as I eye the door, half expecting more of his entourage to follow, but it’s still quiet.

He rocks on his heels by the entrance, casual as ever, then flashes me a confident, boyish smile the moment our eyes meet.

A pulse kicks at the base of my throat.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, my voice sharper than I mean it to be. I swallow down the nerves and try again. “Sorry, I just mean…our machines are down. I’m closing up.”

Why is he here?Did Clara know he was coming?

“I know,” he says, grinning. The dimple softens him in a way I’m not used to seeing in other jocks. “I heard you the first time.”

I force my shoulders to ease.

“Right. Sorry,” I repeat, quieter this time.

Nervously, I wipe my hands down the front of my apron, then tug it off and toss it over the swinging door. As I step out from behind the bar, he speaks at the exact same time as I do.

“Did you need?—”

“I just?—”

The words tangle together and fall flat. We both go quiet.

He exhales a soft, almost imperceptible laugh. “Well, this just got awkward.”

The evening sun spills through the window beside him, catching at the crown of his head and warming the gold in his hair as he rakes his fingers through it. “I hope it’s not too weird that I showed up at your job. I just noticed you weren’t in class today and…wanted to check up on you.”