Juniper.“You’re staying the whole week, Juniper. I already told Mom you were.”Lila said it like a warning, not a welcome. She kissed my cheek too hard and looked past me at the driveway like she hoped someone better had come with me.“I have a ticket back Sunday,” I said.“No you don’t. Your place still smells like floodwater and you told me you were broke until January. You’re here. Smile.”The house swallowed the rest of the argument. Pine. Woodsmoke. Too much heat. Adrian was already coming down the hall in a black sweater with the sleeves pushed up, silver at his temples, looking at me the way a man looks at a problem he has already decided to solve.“Give me the bag,” he said.“I can carry it.”“I didn’t ask if you could.”His fingers closed over mine on the handle. For a second we both held it. His skin was warm. His thumb dragged once across my knuckle like he was checking the texture. Then he took the suitcase and put his other hand on the small of my back to steer me inside
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