Page 25

Zara watched Tess swallow, her eyes flickering with uncertainty. It was strange seeing Tess suddenly unsure of herself. The moment hung between them, thick with unspoken tension, and Zara could feel her pulse quicken in response.

She should go. She knew that. Whatever was happening right now was dangerous, they were walking towards a line neither of them should cross. ‘Are you leaving soon,’ Zara asked, though the words felt wrong even as she said them. Her voice faltered, and she realized she wasn’t entirely ready to leave.

Tess leaned forward, her body moving before her brain could catch up. ‘Not until you do.’

Zara’s hand tightened around her glass. What was Tess saying? What did she want her to stay for? She bit her lip, her eyes darting to Tess. The air between them was thick with possibilities that Zara had not wanted to see until now. But she knew now.

But what was Tess doing? Was she where Zara was?

‘What do you mean?’ Zara asked cautiously, unsure whether she was asking for Tess’s sake or her own.

Tess looked lost for a moment, struggling to find the right words. ‘I mean… I don’t know,’ Tess admitted with a vulnerability that made Zara’s heart lurch. ‘I just… We don’t need to go yet. If we don’t want.’

Zara laughed. She didn’t mean to. It was the irony of the situation mixed with nerves. Tess couldn’t bear the sight of her a few months ago. To get here had an absurdity to it.

Tess’s face fell.

Zara was angry at herself for being so callous. ‘No, it’s just… You hated me when we met. It’s kind of amazing to hear you say…’

‘I never hated you,’ Tess frowned.

Zara gave her a cynical look. ‘Come on, Tess.’

Tess sighed. ‘It wasn’t you. It was the bank I hated. You just happened to be a human representative of it.’

‘That you hated,’ Zara completed.

Tess laughed and looked away. ‘Maybe a little bit.’ She managed to wrestle her gaze back up to Zara. ‘But I don’t now. OK? I really, really don’t.’

OK, it was out there. Tess wanted something to happen. It was undeniable.

Zara glanced at Tess’s lips without meaning to, just for a second. She wasn’t sure if it was the whisky or the exhaustion of the night, but suddenly, everything felt too close, too intimate.

For a moment, Zara wanted to reach out, to say something that would make sense of what was happening between them. But before she could figure it out, she felt herself stand abruptly, the stool scraping against the floor loudly.

Tess looked hurt beyond measure, and Zara felt a pang of guilt, knowing she’d just pulled away from something Tess had risked showing her.

‘I need to go,’ Zara said quietly. This was too much, too fast. She didn’t know how to handle this.

Tess nodded, the look on her face breaking something in Zara. She hadn’t meant to hurt her, but she could see the disappointment there. ‘OK, then.’

‘See you soon,’ Zara managed as she turned toward the door, though the words felt hollow, inadequate. She hesitated, glancing back at Tess. She didn’t have to go, she knew. She could give in.

And then she walked up the stairs and left through the main entrance. As she stepped out into the cool night air, Zara took a deep breath, her mind racing. What the hell had just happened in there?

She wasn’t sure if she’d just walked away from something important or if it was all too risky, too complicated.

But one thing was certain—this wasn’t the end of it. Whatever was happening between her and Tess wasn’t finished.