Josh’s smile faded, leaving behind an intensity that sent shivers from my head to my toes.
An endless second stretched between us, suspended by the same electric charge from earlier before a shriek of nearby laughter snapped it in half.
Josh and I jerked apart at the same time.
“We should go—”
“I have to leave—”
Our voices tangled in a rush of excuses.
“I have to pack for Eldorra,” I said, even though our flight wasn’t for another five days.
As Bridget’s bridesmaids, Ava, Stella, and I were flying in early for pre-wedding prep, courtesy of Alex’s private jet. Josh wasn’t in the wedding party, but he was joining us because why fly commercial when you could fly private?
“Right. I’m gonna stick around, help clean up.” Josh raked a hand through his hair. “Thanks for coming. We successfully warded off all matchmaking attempts.”
“Thanks for inviting me. Glad I could help.”
An awkward beat passed.
Given our arrangement, we should be heading to his place for sex because that was supposed to be the cornerstone of our relationship, but after our conversation just now, that felt...wrong.
Josh must’ve thought the same, because he didn’t say anything else except, “See you soon, Red.”
“See you.”
I quickened my steps until I reached the park exit, too afraid to look back lest Josh see the confusion scrawled over my face.
He was working all week, so I wouldn’t see him until our Eldorra trip. I could take the time to reset and return to our equilibrium, AKA attracted to but barely tolerating him.
But I had a sinking feeling that whatever knocked our world off its axis had done so irrevocably. Not in one afternoon, but in all the moments that led up to it—our truce at the clinic, our ski lessons, our night in Vermont, our sex-only pact. Hyacinth and the library and the hundreds of small moments in which I thought about Josh and didn’t experience the same visceral irritation I used to when he crossed my mind.
Disrespect Jules again, and I’ll put you in the emergency room myself.
That’s not shallow.
Was that a compliment, Red?
I didn’t know what to make of my strange new feelings toward Josh, but I knew one thing: there was no going back to whatever we used to be.