Chapter 77

"You're putting up with so much crap from her and running to LA for all of this," I retort. "How can she say that you're not invested?" "You really want to know?" He looks at me warily. "You never ask about any of this." He watches me carefully. I bite on my lip, and twirl my hair nervously, everything in me wanting to push this topic away and clamp shut, but the way he's looking at me stills me. He lifts his hand to mine, cupping it slowly and pulls my fingers from my hair with a frown. He keeps my hand in his yet uses his thumb to stroke my cheek. "I want to talk to you about this, but not if it's going to upset you." He finally admits but I stay still, looking intently at him. My heart racing erratically. "I need to stop pretending it's not happening." I finally let out quietly and watch the indecision flit across his face. He knows I won't lead the conversation, so he volunteers it instead. &quo