Page 17 of Tangled Hearts

I grin at Liam and hang up the phone.

I do my nighttime routine, washing off my makeup and getting undressed before slipping into bed. Kassie jumps up after me, curling herself against my body. I lie in the dark, thinking.

It’s not necessarily a good thing, nor is it bad. It justis.Before I can talk myself out of it, I pick up my phone.

Me

Thank you for letting me use your jacket. I’ll bring it back tomorrow?

I hit send and toss my phone off to the side. It’s late. Later than I realized, which makes sense given Liam was in bed when I calledhim, so I’m not expecting a message back tonight, but when my phone buzzes a few seconds later, I fumble for it in the dark.

Nic

You’re very welcome. No rush. I have others.

I stare at my phone for a few seconds, not really sure if I should respond. “What should I do, Kas?”

She huffs, turning her head away from me. Wholly unhelpful, of course.

My thumbs hover over the keys while I try to decide what to do. I roll to my side, staring at Nic’s message. With a heavy sigh, I start typing.

Me

I really am so sorry about my behavior tonight. It was uncalled for. I didn’t need to act like that.

I backspace the whole message. I’ve already apologized to the guy once. I don’t need to do it again. Good God.

Me

Thanks. It’s nice. Really warm. Smells good too.

I blink down at what I’ve typed. That isnotthe move. I’m about to backspace again, but Kassie bumps my elbow, and I accidentally hitsend instead. My whole body flushes hot. “You’re actually joking. This cannotbe my life.”

I’m frantically trying to figure out how to unsend the message when the read receipt shows up. “Goddammit, Kassie. This is all your fault.”

The chat bubble pops up and goes away. Then it pops up and goes away again. I’m going to die. Like, I really might just actually die from embarrassment.

A message comes through, and I slam my eyes shut. If I just keep my eyes closed, I can pretend the entire thing never happened. Easy-peasy. Only I can’t do that. I crack an eye open, and then the other, steeling myself for what I’m about to read.

Nic

I’ll take that as a compliment. You can keep it. It’s all yours.

No. No no no. I cannot. But I do kind of want to. Dammit. With a groan, I close out of the app—what we can’t see can’t hurt us—and toss my phone to the end table. I roll over and press my face into Kassie’s fur, closing my eyes.

When I wake up, my bed is empty. Traitor dog. Makes me send a text that was supposed to be deleted and then abandons me in my time of need. I open my eyes, and the very first thing I see is Nic’s stupid leather jacket, hung over the back of the stupid chair by my stupid vanity.

I have to give the stupid thing back to him.

I grab my phone and fire off a quick text.

Me

I really can’t keep it. Let me know where I should take it. Or I can just drop it off at Holden’s.

Nic

It’s yours, really. I don’t want it back.