Page 87 of Dotted Lines (Runaway 5)

She sniffled and swallowed hard. “Is there anything I could have done?”

Christ, I hated this. I hated seeing hurt on her beautiful face, but she deserved to find the man who saw her and only her. “No.”

“Ouch. I thought . . . I thought we had a chance.”

I opened my mouth to apologize again, but she was already gone, standing from the couch and hurrying across the living room.

I followed, standing by as she picked up her backpack and purse. Then she closed the distance between us, raised up on her toes to kiss my cheek. “Goodbye, Karson.”

“Goodbye, Holly.”

She slipped out of the door without a backward glance.

I didn’t move until the lights from her headlights had vanished. Then I bolted for the door myself, flinging it open and whipping it closed behind me as I ran for the Cadillac.

The roads to Temecula were nearly deserted as I raced to my Clara.

The hotel lobby was empty and dark. The front desk clerk side-eyed me as I jogged through the lobby for the elevator. The slow ride to our floor was torture.

It had been over three hours since I’d bid Clara good night. Was she still awake? I checked the time on my phone as I strode down the hallway toward her room. It was after midnight. She was probably asleep behind that closed door, but there was no way I was waiting until morning. “Fuck it.”

I knocked lightly, waiting. If she didn’t answer, I’d call. I shifted from one foot to the other, my breath lodged in my chest.

Then there was a click and the slide of a chain. Clara opened the door, wearing a pale pink silk camisole and matching sleep shorts with a lace hem. Her hair was loose, draped over her bare shoulders. But she hadn’t been sleeping. There was red rimming her eyes and her cheeks were splotchy.

She’d been crying.

Lou’s words clicked into place.

One look at her and the world made sense.

“I love you.”

Clara gasped, her body tensing. “W-what?”

Smooth, Karson. I hadn’t meant to just blurt those three words but now that they were out there, I might as well just go with it. “I love you.”

She blinked, clearly confused. “What about Holly?”

“I just got back from Elyria.”

“Oh.” Her eyes widened. “Why?”

Why? My stomach dropped. Had I read this wrong? Did she not feel the same? No. No goddamn way. “Because she wasn’t you.”

Her chin began to quiver. “You love me?”

“I—”

“I love you too.” The moment she spoke, she dropped her face into her hands. Her shoulders began to shake and I crossed the distance between us, urging her into the room before easing the door closed.

Why was she crying?

“Clara, I—”

Before I could finish my sentence, she surged, throwing her arms around my shoulders. Then there was no more talking. Her lips found mine and a bolt of lightning shot through my body, fusing me to her. We were a mess of fumbling hands and wet lips.

The urgency of her mouth. The desperation of mine. She opened for me and I dove in, my tongue tangling with hers as my arms engulfed her.