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air. Tension leaves my shoulders and strangely, I feel…relief. Now I don’t have to set foot inside a tomb full of memories.
    I step around him. “You’re insane, you know that?”
    Joel laughs and spins on his heel as I stroll past him. “I know it.”
    He follows me back to the car and, inside, Monique flashes me a tight smile. Whether it’s sympathy or frustration, I don’t know.
    I slip into the seat and drop my head against the headrest as Joel gets comfortable behind the wheel. He and Monique exchange whispers, ones I can’t decipher, until she says, “But what if they’re the ones who burned down your lake house?”
    Joel shrugs. “I guess we’ll find out.”
    I lift my stare to the roof as Joel swiftly backs out of the driveway.
    Yeah, I guess we'll find out…
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Four
     
     
    Emily
     
    Flames
     
    I’ll admit there is a positive to the drug they fed me. It affects my dreams. It makes them vivid, so real I feel, smell, and taste everything. Every inch of him is a hallucination and I know it, but I don’t care. I miss him so much that I’ll take a fantasy with him over a reality without him any day.
     
    ***
     
    The air is crisp and warm. No clouds drift through the inky evening sky or block any of the dazzling stars that seem to pop out one by one.
    A gentle breeze blows my long, high ponytail off the back of my neck as I wait at the top of the stairs of a house that is supposedly mine, but I’ve never seen before.
    I hold my black clutch in my hand, flicking the glittering badge pinned to the center with a nervous finger. Will he like my dress? I chose red on purpose. Jai likes red. The dress is tight around my chest and waist before loosening up into soft, elegant waves from the thin, gold belt down to the middle of my thigh.
    I shift at the top of the stairs, ignoring the way my palms begin to sweat. Why did I choose to wear these Jimmy Choos? I’m not well rounded in heels—and since when did I even own a pair of this caliber, anyway? I glance down for the briefest moment, and that’s when I hear him pull his car into the driveway.
    My heart stutters, then swells. The moment I’ve been both anticipating and dreading has arrived. God. It feels like I haven’t seen him in weeks.
    I hold my breath as the lights turn off and the sleek, black car falls silent.
    An eternity passes between the car turning off and the click of his door, but eventually, he opens it.
    I allow oxygen to flood my lungs with a gasp as he steps out of the car and straightens his posture. He turns to face me, a light smile playing on his beautiful lips, and my throat dries. He commands my attention in the most paralyzing of ways, and my heart races. I’ve missed him so much.
    Jai holds himself upright, like every man should, and his shoulders are incredibly broad and strong. His formal, white button-up shirt clings to his athletic torso, loosening slightly around his slim hips before it’s tucked into his well fitted black slacks. Stuffing his large hands into his pockets, he gazes up at me, locking me in place with his intense eyes.
    “Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he calls out, his throat bobbing with a hard swallow.
    Heat rushes to my cheeks, and I bite back a smile. “It’s not too much?”
    “There’s no such thing as too much when it comes to you, Kitten.”
    Kitten. A pet name I once hated is now something I enjoy hearing.
    Because he gave it to me.
    Jai stalks away from his car toward the stairs. Toward me. When he reaches the bottom, he drops his attention to my feet and slowly drags it up my body in a way that makes me feel naked. Completely exposed.
    I fidget with my clutch as he climbs the stairs one foot at a time. Before he reaches the top, his cologne wafts over me, making me sway a little. I inhale deeply. He smells like…like Heaven. I lick my lips to moisten them.
    We’re going to dinner, that’s why we’re wearing formal attire, and judging by