The Return (Titan 1)

Less than a week.

It felt like months.

Wow. I lowered my hands and stared down at them. Everything in the whole entire world had shifted in less than a week.

That screwed with my head in a way that made it hard to breathe evenly. My trembling fingers blurred. Twisting at the waist, I stretched and snatched the remote off the nightstand, flipping on the TV and settling on the first channel I saw, because I really wasn’t seeing anything.

An hour passed and there was a knock. My heart doubled its beat as I all but dive-bombed off the bed and ran to the door, throwing it open.

It was Luke. He smiled. “I brought you some workout clothes. Seth put the order in and guessed the size.”

Trying not to let any disappointment show, I took the clothes and saw that they really were my size. Um. Okay. I didn’t know if I should be awed by that or kind of wigged out that Seth was that good at guessing women’s sizes.

And that he knew my size.

Well, no point sucking in my belly around him now.

“Thanks,” I said, glancing up at him, and then over his shoulder to the closed door that belonged to the guy who should’ve brought the clothes to me.

“I gotta run.”

I kept that stupid smile plastered on my face. “Okay. Goodnight.”

Luke started to turn, and then swiveled back to me. “Are you okay?”

I guessed the smile looked bad, so I wiped it from my face. “Yeah. Just tired.” I took a step back. “Oh. Thank you for today. It was nice. I had fun.”

“No problem.” He tilted his head to the side as he scratched at the scruff that had appeared on his jaw. “You sure you’re doing all right? If you want, I can hang out—”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Really, but thank you.” Holding the clothing close, I nodded at him. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I guess.”

“Yeah. In the afternoon.” He paused again. “Have a good night.”

Kneeing the door closed, I took my clothes into the bedroom and spilled them across the bed. Black pants that reminded me of yoga bottoms. Gray T-shirts, long and short-sleeved. Sighing, I glanced at my bags, and then the empty closet.

I made the next hour or so productive. Hanging up my clothes and putting them away since I figured I was going to be here… for a while. Then I got ready for bed, donning Seth’s shirt again. I really needed to find some sleep clothes and a washer and dryer.

Another hour was wasted staring at the TV screen, and by then, it was close to ten. No sign of Seth. Fidgeting until I couldn’t take it any longer, I sprang from the bed and went to the door, opening it. I stepped out, digging my toes into the carpet as I froze, my eyes fastened to the door across from me.

What was I doing?

Seth wasn’t coming over. I’d slept every night by myself since forever. I didn’t need him or anyone to go to sleep.

I hesitated, and then I turned, quietly pushing my door shut. Closing my eyes, I leaned forward and pressed my forehead against the door. The knot from earlier was back, lodging at the base of my throat, and my arms felt tired, so did my legs, even though I hadn’t done anything all day but walk around and eat. But I missed—

I cut the thought off as I pushed from the door. A weight settled over me as I tugged the covers back and slipped into bed, pulling the blankets up to my chin, and as I lay there, the image of my grandparents formed in my thoughts—them at the kitchen table, sweet tea in hand and pie on plates between them. A sharp pain whipped through me, and I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing thoughts of them away and focusing on taking deep and even breaths until my eyelids became heavy.

And Seth never showed.

Chapter 21

SETH DID show up the next morning, about fifteen minutes after I dragged my butt out of bed. I opened the door to him, still half-asleep but aware enough to note that he looked damn good in dark nylon pants paired with a black henley. God, he always looked damn good.

He handed over a coffee that I took without thinking. “Get moving, Joe. We’re training today.”

Scowling, I took a sip of the coffee. “Don’t call me Joe.”

“But I want to.” Placing his hands on my shoulders, he turned me around, toward the bedroom. “By the way, you still look great in my shirt.”

Heart skipping, I looked over my shoulder at him. I wanted to ask why he hadn’t come over last night, but the question seemed wrong and needy, incredibly needy. So I said nothing as I sipped my steaming coffee.

He cocked a brow. “Anytime now.”

“I don’t like you,” I murmured.

A quick smile appeared and disappeared. “Yeah, you do.”

“I really don’t like you.” I turned, using the rim of the Styrofoam cup to hide my grin.

Seth was sitting on the bed, chin in his hand and elbow propped on his knee when I was finished getting ready. His gaze tracked from the tips of my sneakers, over the black pants and gray shirt, to where I’d pulled my hair into a ponytail.

“The training uniform also looks good on you,” he murmured.

A pleasant rush invaded me, and I wanted to ignore it, because I shouldn’t be so easily flattered.

“The tag has already starting to fade,” he commented, and he was right. It was a faint pink when I peeked at it in the mirror. “How’s you’re head?”

“Okay.” That bruise was also nothing too serious.

He stood fluidly. “You sure you want to do this?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” I nodded, just in case he didn’t get it. “I—I need to do this.”

Holding my gaze for a moment, a look that was akin to pain flickered across his face, but then it was gone as he extended an arm toward the door. “Then let’s do this.”

I followed him out into the hall, but he stopped and said, “Hold on a sec,” and then disappeared into his room. Yawning, I waited the few seconds it took for him to come back out, holding a zipper hoodie and a gray scarf.

“For me?” I asked.

“Yep.” Not meeting my gaze, he handed the items over. “I picked them up yesterday and forgot to give them to you. It’s cold here at the beginning and the end of the day. Will be until sometime in May.”

“Thanks.” I slipped the hoodie on.

His lips curved up on one side as he stepped in front of me and reached out, catching the sides of the hoodie. He slipped the zipper together and dragged it up, and I stood there, holding the scarf like an idiot.

He winked and then turned on his heel. “Time’sticking,Josie.” God, I really disliked him.