Page 25 of Off Script

The silence that followed pressed at Jacob’s ribs, thick and suffocating.

“I saw you,” Liam said at last.

Jacob’s brows drew together slightly. He didn’t ask what that meant, but Liam went on anyway.

“With her.”

Jacob blinked, confused. “Caroline?”

Liam’s jaw worked. He turned his head, refusing to look at him. “Hand on your chest. Whispering in your ear.”

Jacob’s mouth pressed into a line. “She’s my wife.”

“I know that,” Liam snapped. He winced and dragged a hand through his hair. “I’m not stupid. Just drunk enough to say shit I shouldn’t.”

“You sound like it.”

Liam laughed, broken and miserable. “Yeah. That tracks.”

He wavered on his feet. Jacob shifted, instinct pushing him closer, but Liam caught himself—straightening, like it mattered to keep the pretense.

“God, I know,” Liam said, breath hitching. “It’s pathetic. She’s your wife, and I’m just—” His words choked off, like even he didn’t want to hear himself. “Forget it.”

Jacob stared hard at him, heat crawling under his skin. “You don’t get to be upset about that.”

This was the first time they’d circled close to the thing neither of them ever named. It was dangerous ground and Jacob knew it. He could feel the shift, the way every sentence pressed too close to the line they weren’t supposed to cross.

“I’m not upset.” Liam’s hands opened helplessly at his sides. “I’m just… I don’t know what I am. Drunk. Confused. Fucked up.”

Jacob’s jaw clamped so tight it hurt. “Don’t do this. You drank too much. You’ll say shit you’ll regret in the morning.”

“And you’re scared. So what?”

Jacob shook his head. “This isn’t the place or the time.”

“Then tell me where,” Liam shot back, louder now, voice shaking. “Tell me when this conversation would ever be okay, because I’d really love to know.”

Jacob didn’t answer. The silence was brutal, but safer than the truth.

“You followed me,” Liam whispered.

“What if I did?”

Liam’s gaze pinned him. “You could’ve stayed inside. You didn’t. You came after me.”

His tongue pressed to the roof of his mouth, keeping the truth caged.

Liam stepped closer, too close, his body swaying with the liquor still in his veins. Whiskey clung to his breath, heat flushed his cheeks, and his gaze was raw and stripped bare.

“Why?” Liam asked.

Jacob held himself rigid, shoulders squared like bracing was the only thing keeping him steady. The words in his throat weretoo dangerous to speak out loud.Because I can’t stay away. Because I don’t know how to stop.None of those things made sense, so he stayed quiet instead.

“Say it,” Liam whispered. “Say it, Jacob.”

He didn’t. Instead he stepped into Liam’s space, close enough to feel the heat coming off his skin and to hear his breath hitch.

“You’re a coward,” Liam spit.