Page 39 of Trade It All

“Yeah,” I tell her, my thumb brushing lightly over the band like I didn’t think twice about it. “I did.”

The moment softens just enough that Addy takes a step back, not far, not leaving, just giving us space without actually stepping out of it. I notice it. I notice everything. The way she’s still watching. The way Luka hasn’t moved either. But none of it matters the same way it did a minute ago.

“Baby,” I say, quieter now, stepping just a fraction closer without crowding her, keeping my voice where it won’t push her away again. “Come back upstairs with me.” I don’t rush the rest of it. “Let me know you’re safe.”

Her eyes move again, back to my wrist, to the hair tie, then up to me, like she’s weighing something I can’t see, something that matters more than just where she’s going to stand for the next five minutes. I don’t interrupt it. I don’t push. I just stay there. Waiting. Hoping—no, praying—that she meets me halfway.

She exhales softly, something in her shoulders loosening just enough that I catch it, and then she turns toward Addy. “I’ll call you later.”

It’s quiet, but there’s something steadier in it than before. Addy doesn’t argue. But she steps closer again, her hand squeezing Maddie’s arm, her voice firm in a way that says she means every word.

“You call me, I don’t care what it is—I’m coming to get you. I’ll drop everything.” Maddie nods, and something in me settles just enough to let the rest of this happen the way it needs to.

I lift my hand. The one with the hair tie still wrapped around my wrist. Not reaching for her. Offering. Giving her the choice I didn’t give her earlier. Everything in me stills for a second, waiting, that same tight pull in my chest sitting there, quiet but sharp, because this matters more than anything else that’s happened in the last five minutes. Her hand slides into mine. No hesitation. No second-guessing. Just… there. And something in me unlocks so fast it almost catches me off guard, like a door I didn’t realize I was holding shut finally gives way without resistance. I close my hand around hers, firm but careful, not gripping, not claiming—just holding. And I don’t let go.

We turn together, heading back toward the elevators, and I feel it immediately, the difference in her beside me now, not pulled, not pushed—walking with me instead of away from me. I glance back once, just enough.

“Not a word,” I tell Luka, my voice even but leaving no space for him to take it lightly. “To anyone. Yet.”

He nods, but there’s a grin on his face that tells me exactly how much he’s enjoying this. “I told you she was your girl.”

I roll my eyes, not even bothering to respond as I step into the elevator, pulling Maddie in with me, the doors sliding shut behind us before he can add anything else. The quiet settlesagain. Different this time. Not heavy. Not strained. Just… there. I feel her shift beside me, and when I glance down, her eyes are on our hands, her fingers still laced with mine like she hasn’t fully realized she did it.

And then she laughs again. That same real laugh. The one that cuts through everything else.

“What’s so funny, Baby?” I ask, my voice softer now.

She looks up at me, something warm in her eyes that wasn’t there before. “Where are your shoes?”

Chapter 17

Maddie

I’mstillstaringathis socks when the elevator doors slide open.

It shouldn’t be the thing my brain latches onto, not after everything that just happened, not with his hand still wrapped around mine like it belongs there, like it settled into place and decided not to move—but it is. The contrast of it. The way he ran out after me without even stopping to think about something as simple as shoes. The way that somehow means more than it should.

He doesn’t let go when we step out. He just walks. And I go with him. Down the hall. Back to his door. Into his space like I didn’t just leave it, like I didn’t stand there a few minutes ago and tell him we couldn’t do this. My hand is still in his when the door closes behind us, the quiet settling around us again, softer than before, but not empty. It hums with something I don’tunderstand yet, something that keeps my chest from feeling tight even when my thoughts start to catch up.

I pull my hand back. Not quickly. Not like I’m yanking away from him. Just… enough. Enough space to think. Enough distance to remind myself that I had a choice in this, that I didn’t just get pulled back into something without meaning to.

I should’ve gone with Addy.

The thought comes clear and steady, cutting through everything else for a second. I should be in her car right now. I should be sitting in her apartment with her hovering and Luka watching everything like he’s waiting for something to go wrong.

That would make sense. That would be easy to explain. So why am I here? I take a step back, creating more space between us, and then I turn, the questions already rising, already stacking on top of each other faster than I can sort through them. Why did he come after me? Why did he say that? Why does it feel like something changed and I’m the only one trying to figure out what?

I open my mouth—And then I stop. Because he’s not looking at me. He’s putting his watch back on.

The movement is slow, deliberate, like he’s not rushing through it, like he doesn’t feel the same urgency sitting in his chest that’s building in mine. The band slides into place, his fingers working the clasp, and I catch it just before it disappears.

The tie. My tie.

My feet move before I think about it, closing the space I just created, my hand lifting without asking permission, my fingers brushing against the band before I hook them under it, pulling it slightly into view again.

“Why did you keep it?” The question comes out quieter than I expect, not sharp, not demanding—just… there, like I don’t even know what answer I’m bracing for.

His eyes lift to mine. No hesitation. No space to soften it.