Page 174 of Sin

“I’m trying something new.”

“I don’t care for it.”

He smiles faintly, but his eyes stay serious.

“I’m worried talking to him will convince me to stay,” I admit. “And I want to stay for the right reasons.”

“What if he’s the right reason?”

My eyes lift. Tate holds my gaze.

“Or,” he adds, “what if he tells you he thinks you should go?”

That hits somewhere tender.

“Why would he do that?”

“Because he loves you.”

My breath stops. The words land between us like something fragile dropped on glass. Tate looks almost apologetic, but he doesn’t take it back.

People move around us. The restaurant hums. Somewhere behind me, a fork clatters against a plate. But my whole world narrows to those three words. He loves you.

I know. I do know. I saw the message Opal showed me. Tell her I love her. But hearing it out loud is different.

“Tate,” I whisper.

“He does,” he says. “And before you ask, no, he didn’t tell me to say that.”

“Then why are you saying it?”

“Because I’m tired of watching two people I care about look like shit.”

I laugh, but it comes out watery. “You Sinclairs are really fond of that phrase.”

“It’s accurate.” He pauses. “He’s trying, Laurel.”

I look away. “I know.”

“No, I mean really trying. He’s stayed away because he was told to. Because you needed space. Because Owen threatened to remove several parts of him if he violated the agreement.”

“That sounds like Owen.”

“It was actually one of his gentler threats.”

A small smile tugs at my mouth, then fades.

Tate continues, “The divorce is settled. Jenna is taken care of. The company is stable. The board has a plan. None of that erases what happened, but things are different now.”

“Are they?”

“Yes.”

I trace condensation down the side of my glass. “It doesn’t feel different.”

“What does it feel like?”

“Like I’m standing between two doors and both of them are on fire.”