Page 231 of ClickBack

“You don’t have to bring anything.”

“I’m eating, Zel.”

I laugh despite myself. “All right.”

“See you tonight.”

I go inside. I have hours to find the beginning of what I need to say. At six fifty-four, when the garage door starts up, I am still standing in the kitchen rehearsing a sentence that sounds far too much like goodbye.

Chapter 39

Jarrett

She meets me at the kitchen door and kisses me like she might not get another chance.

I have a bag of takeout in one hand. I set it down and put the other one on her back.

“Hey,” I say when she lets me go.

“Hi.”

“You want to tell me what’s going on?”

She looks at the food. “You got Thai.”

“You like Thai.”

“I do.”

“Good. That part’s settled.”

She smiles, but it takes some work. I pull out a chair at the table and wait until she sits across from me.

I have been thinking about that message since she sent it. Not sick. Doctor brought something up. Every explanation I came up with got worse after the first sentence. Now I’m in her kitchen, and she looks fine except for the way she keeps moving her ring from one finger to another.

“I saw Sutton at the doctor’s office,” she says.

That wasn’t on my list.

“Something happen?”

“She had ultrasound pictures. She was happy. She had her hand on her stomach.” Giselle looks down at the ring. “I think she’s pregnant.”

“Okay.”

“Byron wasn’t with her.”

I wait for the rest. She doesn’t give it to me.

“And seeing that bothered you,” I say.

“I don’t want him back.”

“I would hope the fuck not.”

She looks up. I let her see I’m serious before I smile a little.

“That wasn’t what I asked, though.”