“What do you remember from the last time you were here?” Colt asks.
“I dunno. Mostly that I was stuck in here and couldn’t do anything. I was bored to tears and I hated it. Hated my dad. Hated everything. It was a relief to finally go away,” I say, shrugging.
“What if I can give you an alternative history on what happened?” Colt whispers, stepping closer and placing his hands alongside my upper arms.
His hands are warm and the contact sparks the same orange and blue flames, igniting them along my triceps. I stare down at them mesmerized by the swirling vortex.
“Dru—you did it. Are you down here?” a voice calls out from the top of the stairs.
My eyes widen and my heart suddenly feels far too big for my chest as it thumps awkwardly.
Only one person in the whole world calls me Dru.
“Wade?” I sputter, twisting away from Colt and Cat and racing to the bottom of the stairs.
Wade’s signature leather jacket, dark hair, and silver eyes come into view as he crouches in the doorway.
“Hey,” he says, his eyebrows tugging in, “is it as creepy as I imagine? Can I join you?”
I cast a gaze over my shoulder, widening my eyes and mouthing to Cat and Colton to stay put.
Racing up the stairs, I crouch to get out into my room.
“I was—” I stumble for words, “w-what are you doing here?”
His silver-gray eyes lock with me and he grins. “I couldn’t leave things the way they were after our last conversation. I scheduled an alternate PCA to come in so I could leave a day early. I wanted to surprise you.”
“Ha—well, you definitely accomplished that,” I snicker, trying to get my nerves under control.
“God, you look… I’ve missed you,” he says, his eyebrows tipping up in the middle as he pulls me in close. His heady scent of sandalwood and soap draw me in and the strange sense of safety only he brings wraps around me like a blanket.
“I’ve missed you, too,” I whisper, melting into him. For a moment, I almost forget about Cat and Colton in the sub-basement. After all the confusion and crazy, I’m so glad to have him here. He brings things back into focus, as well a sense of stability and normalcy.
“I saw another SUV parked in the driveway. Is your dad finally here so I can meet him?” Wade asks.
Behind me, someone clears their throat and I lift my head off Wade’s chest to stare into Colt’s wide eyes.
“Oh, I didn’t realize you had anyone else down there with you,” Wade says, suddenly serious as he glances from Cat to Colt. His eyes rest a beat longer with Colton and he straightens his shoulders. “I’m Wade, Autumn’s boyfriend.”
My insides constrict at the heavy layer of testosterone that’s managed to seep into the space around us.
Colt’s lips press tight, but he recovers quickly, nodding to himself. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he constricts back into himself, becoming the guy I met the first day of school and no longer the self-assured guy I was beginning to see.
Breaking away from Wade, I sweep my arm out. “Wade, this is Cat, er, Caitlyn, and her brother, Colton.”
Wade thrusts out a hand to Cat, who shakes it quickly. Her smile is authentic, but she shifts back awkwardly as soon as Wade releases her hand.
When he does the same to Colton, the best he gets is a glance at his outstretched limb. Wade arches an eyebrow, but as Colt meets my wide eyes, he sighs, nods, and extends his hand anyway.
“I’ve heard a lot about you both. I’m glad I finally get the chance to meet you,” Wade says. His natural, good-natured aura is more closed off than I’ve ever seen it before, but I can tell he’s trying hard not to be completely uptight.
“Yeah, same,” Cat agrees, nodding. She glances from Wade to Colt. “You know, Autumn, we really appreciate you showing us the…basement. But we really should get going.”
“Agreed,” Colt says, heading for the door.
“Thanks for the ride, guys—and the insights,” I say, trying to sound more centered than I feel.
“No problem. We can talk more about everything later,” Cat says, shooting me a look of apology.
I tip my head in agreement. “Good.”
Cat rushes after Colt and, after a few moments, Wade turns to me. “So, that was Colt, huh?”
I wince. “I don’t know what you think was going on. It was a weird day and I—”
“You don’t have to explain, Autumn. I get it. I’m not always…here,” he says, taking a step back.
Exhaling loudly, I walk up to him, sliding my left hand inside his. “Wade Hoffman, you are always here.” I place our joined hands over my heart.
His silver eyes take me in, watching me for a beat. “I hope so.”
I can see his faith in me cracking, no matter how unfounded, and it sends waves of panic coursing through my body. If I’m not careful, I could lose the one person in the whole world who’s been nothing but honest with me.
Chapter 24
Forbidden
Turning back to the little doorway quickly, I sweep my hand out. I need to find a way to set things right as quickly as possible.
“Do you want to see?” I say, trying to sound upbeat and not like I’m a traitorous bitch for not waiting for him to go inside.
Wade pauses for a second before his coolness melts a bit. “God, yes. I thought you’d never ask.”
I chuckle, urging him to go first. He shoots me a sideways glance but bends down and descends the steps. Sighing in relief, I follow after him.
“Wow, this is—” he begins as we hit the lower level.
“Freaky, right?”
“Well, I was gonna say ridiculously awesome, but sure, freaky works, too,” he says, turning to me. His eyes twinkle with amusement. “So, where’d you find the doorknob?”
Reaching up, I fiddle with the bottom of my earlobe. “I was—well, Abigail showed me.”
Wade’s eyebrows rise to his hairline. “Does that mean we were right?
