Page 296 of Bitter’s Sweet

“You'll listen.”

“Debatable.”

Her mouth twitches.

“There she is.”

I squeeze her hand.

“This is mine.”

“Yes.”

Not Bitter's. Not Razor's. Not some life I chose because a man made leaving harder than staying.

Mine.

The school. The work. This strange little town with murder holes and fortune-telling grandmothers and a rooster who seems personally invested in my sex life.

Mine.

I find Bitter outside after we finish Raven.

He stands near the school steps with Nevermore, both of them looking over some paperwork. When Bitter sees me, he says something to Nevermore and steps away.

Not toward me.

Away from the conversation.

Available.

Not assuming.

I walk to him.

His eyes search my face. “Everything okay?”

“Yes.”

That makes him look nervous.

Interesting.

“The school offered me a permanent place.”

His whole face changes before he catches it. Pride, happiness, fear, and hope all tangled together.

“Mercy mentioned it.”

“She wasn't supposed to.”

“She didn't tell me what you decided.”

I study him.

“You're not going to ask me to stay?”

Every selfish part of him appears in his eyes.