Page 350 of Double or Nothing

He pushes his chair back and stands.

Neither of us speaks. Everything I tried and failed to write hangs in the air between us.

Eli looks from Jack to me, then back again.

“Ah,” Eli says. His pale eyes settle on me once more. “You are indeed the someone. I suspected so.”

Jack glances towards him. Eli offers no explanation, just gives him a quiet smile.

“I’ll leave you to it.”

He closes the door behind him.

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

JACK

The door closes behind Eli.

Bryce is looking right at me with wide eyes. So beautiful, it gives me a wave of flutters that no longer intimidates me.

For once in my life, I have no joke ready.

No clever remark. No filthy greeting. No bright burst of swagger designed to seize control.

Bryce is wearing a smart navy jacket and tie. Not one of his usual go-tos. He’s taken time over this choice. That alone tells me something has happened. His hair is neat, but not perfect, and his fingers keep twitching against his leg.

His foot is tapping.

The fake scrolling thumb and nervous foot tapper from the Kilby Club.

My BT.

Except the nickname doesn’t come.

Neither does the easy smile.

I look at him, and he looks back, and the relief is so powerful it should bring me to my knees.

He came.

After the silence, the unanswered messages and the keys left behind, Bryce walked through the doors of The Argent and found me.

I thought I’d know exactly what to do if this happened.

I imagined myself striding across the room, delivering some excellent line about how long he’d kept me waiting. I pictured the way I’d lean against the desk and pretend the sight of him hadn’t rearranged my entire nervous system.

None of that feels possible now.

Something has changed in me.

Not disappeared. The joker is still here. I can feel him hovering in the background, ready to convert the moment into something easier.

But he doesn’t control me.

Not tonight.

For the first time, I don’t need to perform strength. It’s authentic. Just like me.