Chapter 23

The sudden scene made Alice’s pupils shrink—she let out a shriek without even thinking. "Ah!!" Both hands flew up to cover her face, but her fingers accidentally grazed the wound on her forehead, and the scream quickly turned into a gasp of pain. Crap, that hurt. Seriously, it stung like hell. "You okay?" Edward’s voice had a slight edge to it as he strode over and tilted her chin up with one hand, eyes locked on the cut on her forehead. Being forced to lift her chin, Alice met his gaze head-on. He had a faint crease between his brows, his dark eyes sharp, a mix of concern and intensity in them. For a second, Alice froze. His breath brushed against her face, and that’s when it hit her how close they really were—way too close, way too intimate. She immediately pushed him away. "I'm fine, Mr. Hawthorne, really. I... I just came down for something to eat." Edward took a step back from her shove, his dark eyes flickering slightly as he took in how flustered she looked. His voice dropped a