Page 73 of For the Plot

“You didn’t,” she says firmly. “You lost someone. That’s not failure.”

“No, but hiding behind work? Staying away from anything that felt real?” I glance down at her. “That was.”

She presses her lips to my shoulder, then rests her cheek there. “You showed up for him. That counts.”

“I could’ve done better.” She doesn’t argue. Just holds my hand a little tighter. I shift slightly. “What about you?”

Her brow furrows.

“Why didn’t you tell me what really happened between you and Archer?”

She pulls in a breath, then lets it out in a slow, steady stream. “I didn’t think it mattered. Not anymore.”

“It does to me.”

She looks up at me then. “He cheated.”

I still. “You’re sure?”

“I caught him. His sophomore year, my freshman. I—I had a gut feeling he was lying about where he was one night, so I went looking for him and found him in bed with some girl from his business ethics class. The irony wasn’t lost on me.”

My chest goes tight. I sit up slightly, brushing her hair back. “I had no idea.”

“I didn’t think you did. You were… busy. Building an empire.”

“I’m sorry,” I say, voice rough. “You didn’t deserve that.”

She exhales, long and slow. “It was a shock, that’s all. One day we were planning spring break, and the next… it was over between us and he transferred schools. Just disappeared. No explanation. No goodbye. It was the heartbreak and the confusion that wrecked me.”

My chest tightens.

She lets out a dry little laugh and shrugs like it’s just another story. “It was a long time ago. We were kids. He made a shitty decision and I paid for it with a broken heart. It happens.”

I watch her carefully. She shifts onto her back, her arm resting loosely over her stomach. Like it’s nothing. Like it didn’t change her but I don’t push. I slide closer, lean in, and press a kiss to her bare shoulder.

No more words. No more questions. Just basking in the presence of her for the night because in truth, it’s all I’ll probably ever get with her. My hand drifts across her stomach, slow and steady. She sighs and lets her eyes flutter shut.

But mine stay open. Because now that she’s said his name tonight, my mind won't stop going there. To Archer. To the image of her in his bed. To the way he never once told me what he did. Never acted like he lost anything.

My stomach tightens. I don’t know if it’s guilt or jealousy or both, but it’s bitter either way. Twisting low and hot in my gut.

I shouldn't be here. Shouldn't want her like this. And if he ever finds out… I don’t even let myself finish that thought. Because I know exactly what I’d do if the roles were reversed. And none of it ends well.

Chapter 15

Skye

Iwake up alone.

The first thing I notice is the silence. The kind of silence that feels deliberate. Heavy. Like the room is holding its breath, waiting to see what I’ll do next. The sheets are tangled around my hips, still warm from my body. But not his.

Not anymore.

I stretch slowly, every inch of me sore. Not gym-sore. Not slept-weird-on-my-neck sore. But deep, bruised, used-in-the-best-way sore. There’s an ache low in my belly that tightens when I shift my hips.

Ow. God.

I wince. Last night wasn’t sex like I’ve ever experienced sex before and Shane wasn’t just a two-hump chump. For everything else he lacked, he certainly knew his way around the bedroom and Reece just made him look like an amateur.