Page 33 of Iced Up Love: Part Two
The door.
The flowers.
Then something shifts behind me...everything in me locks.
Footsteps. Close enough that I can feel the space change around me before I even see him.
“Liana.”
The sound of my name lands like something physical, cutting through everything else, familiar in a way that doesn’t belong here.
For a second, my mind doesn’t catch up. It reaches for something else, something that fits that voice in a different place, a different time.
I turn my head.
Slowly.
Carefully.
And when I see him, my stomach drops.
Paul.
The reaction is immediate, my stomach twisting sharply, my chest tightening so fast it almost knocks the breath out of me.
Of all people...Him. My ex.
He stands a few feet away, watching me like this is something expected, something he’s been waiting for, not something he’s done.
Relief moves across his face when our eyes meet.
Relief.
“There you are,” he says softly, stepping closer. “I was starting to think you weren’t going to wake up.”
My throat feels tight.
Dry.
I don’t answer straight away. I just look at him.
Because nothing about this fits.
Not him.
Not here.
Not after everything that ended between us.
“Paul…” My voice comes out quieter than I expect, rough at the edges.
Something in his expression settles when I say his name, like I’ve confirmed something he needed.
“Hey,” he murmurs, lowering himself slightly so he’s closer to me. “You’re okay.”
The words land wrong.
Everything about this is wrong.
