But he wasn’t ready to move past it. “When you saw me at Doud’s—” he began.

She’d walked into his arms like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“I was caught off guard. It was reflex.”

“You came to me because you’re scared. Because you know I can help you. I can see something’s wrong. Your lights stay on all night. You used to eat like a long-haul trucker at a diner, now you just push food around your plate. What’s got you so rattled, Remi?”

“Stop.” She slapped a hand to his chest, and before he could stop himself, he leaned into it. Her head tipped back to look up at him. He hated how much he loved that.

“Talk to me,” he insisted, his voice hoarse.

She looked down at the hand on his chest. The point of contact he was pressing into until he nudged her chin up, forcing her to look at him again.

Her eyes shimmered under the dim light of streetlights and stars. “You lost the right to hear my confidences a long time ago. Let’s leave it that way. It’s safer for both of us.”

“You know I’m not going to accept that,” he warned.

Her lips curved in a sad smile. “I know,” she admitted. “But you can’t fix this one. Hell. I’m not sure I can.”

“Remi.”

“Brick.” She sounded exasperated, but her smile was a few degrees warmer now. “You’re sorry, and I accepted your apologies. Now we both have to leave it alone.”

“No.” His denial was flat but firm. He wasn’t budging on this. She wasn’t going to charm her way out of it.

“At least you’re consistently irritating,” she said lightly. “Some things never change.”

He let out a growl of frustration. “Back at you, baby.” He felt her soften at his words. Felt her melt just a little bit against him.

A buzzing sound came from her coat pocket. She dug frantically, finally pulling it free. Her expression dimmed when she read the screen. Pain in My Ass read the screen.

She stuffed the phone back into her pocket without answering.

“Don’t you need to take that?” he asked, wondering who Pain in My Ass was and why Remi wanted to avoid them.

“Definitely not.” Her jaw was set, making his blood pressure rise.

This withholding from him was fucking torture.

“Look up,” she said softly. When he didn’t, she cupped his chin in her free hand and forced him. The northern lights flickered and glowed above them. “See the lights?”

“Yeah.”

“You once asked me what it’s like to see music. It’s a little like that.”

In silence, they both stared into the night sky. “It’s beautiful,” he said finally.

“It is,” she agreed. “Now, go home before Mrs. Early sees us out here and alerts the gossip authorities.”

“You know I’m waiting here until you get inside.”

Her sigh was accompanied by a cloud of breath. “I know.”

She slipped around him, and this time he didn’t stop her. He stood there, rooted, until she was inside and the lights came on. And then he continued to stand guard, wondering what lurked in the dark that frightened the bravest girl he’d ever known.