"Are you seriously taking her side over mine?"
Grandma Blackwood's temper flared, but she didn't dare push back against Old Mr. Blackwood directly, so she redirected the frustration squarely at Naomi instead.
"Julian's situation is what matters right now. I'm taking Naomi to the station." Ethan reached, on instinct, to take Naomi's hand.
She sidestepped it smoothly.
The rejection landed harder than he expected, something unreadable settling over his face.
This is exactly what I used to do to her. Constantly.
Now that she was treating him with the same distance, he finally understood really understood what she must have felt every single time.
"Sorry," Ethan said, after a long pause. Two words, that was all he managed.
Naomi turned, caught the weight behind his eyes, and understood
