Page 40 of Faking It With My Pucking Protector

I’m not sure what this is.

But I know I’m not ready for it to end.

Chapter Eleven

AVA

The house is quiet.

Not tense, not heavy. Just… still. The kind of quiet that settles in your chest and makes you breathe a little slower without realizing it.

I pause at the top of the stairs, fingers grazing the banister, listening for signs of life. No cartoons, no stampeding footsteps. Just the low hum of the furnace and the soft creak of the hardwood under my feet.

It’s early, but I slept better last night than I have in a while.

When I step into the kitchen, light spills in across the tile, turning everything gold. My mind drifts to my conversation last night with Jackson. Talking with him about Open Pages was easy in a way that it never was with Brad.

Jackson didn’t just nod politely while checking his watch.

He actuallylistened. He asked questions. He looked at me like the things I was saying mattered.

It made me feel something I hadn’t in a long time. Understood. Like when I spend time with Jackson, I’m actually being seen.

I turn toward the counter, reaching for the coffee pot, but stop when my phone buzzes in my back pocket.

It’s my brother, Greg.

I hesitate, thumb hovering. I haven’t talked to him since before I left the wedding almost a week ago.

“Hey, Greg.”

“You’re not back with him, right?”

No greeting. Just steel in his voice.

“Because if you are, I’m seriously worried. I told Jackson I’d give you space, but I had to say something about this.”

My heart pounds. “What are you talking about?”

“You haven’t seen it?”

“Seen what?”

“Brad posted one of your engagement photos. The caption says something about you two working things out.”

My stomach drops as I press my hand to the counter to steady myself.

“I saw him yesterday.” My voice is flat. “When Jackson and I went to get the rest of my things.”

Greg lets out a clipped breath. “So, you’re not back with him.”

“No,” I say. “God, no.”

He exhales again, slower this time. “Okay.”

Then he says, “I’ve got to scrub in soon. But… I’m here, okay? You don’t have to go quiet on me. You need to talk about anything, just call.”

“Thanks,” I say softly. “Actually... there’s something I should probably tell you now.”