“Here. I have some carrot sticks in my purse.” Tess handed Rudy the snack she’d packed in a Baggie.

“Pretty soon,” Leah whispered to Sebastian, “Rudy will make a trip to the restroom and, when she’s not watching, buy and eat a cupcake.”

“I like them.”

She surveyed him from the corner of sparkling eyes. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

In a short period of time, she’d become too important to him. Stupidly important to him. His old priorities had crashed like a game of Jenga, and now she sat at the top. Which left him vulnerable. He’d been trying to hold himself and his emotions in check. He was losing the battle, though, and that knowledge planted a seed of dread in him.

If he was smart, he’d live in the moment, enjoy the time he had with her, and accept whatever came.

Instead, he’d begun to long for promises from her she wasn’t ready—might never be ready—to give.

He wanted her to promise that she’d love him forever.

That she wouldn’t leave him.

That she wouldn’t die.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The following afternoon, Leah waited anxiously at the curb outside her house for Sebastian. She could count on him to be either early or punctual, and he was scheduled to arrive three minutes from now, at 1:45 p.m., to take her to a production of Fiddler on the Roof at the historic theater downtown.

Above, charcoal-tipped clouds spat drizzle. She pulled up the hood of her quilted jacket.

Sebastian’s Mercedes rounded the corner, and she exhaled with relief. He came to a stop before her, and she slid onto the passenger seat.

“Is something wrong?” he asked immediately.

“Yes, but let’s drive while I tell you about it.”

The car slid forward, windshield wipers clearing the field of vision. Pinpricks of rain. Cleared again by the wipers. Pinpricks of rain.

“I have a student named Claire,” Leah said. “I’ve told you about her, right?”

“Yes.”

“She’s this very kind, awkward, uncertain sixteen-year-old who has a dad with an anger management problem. He yells and screams and breaks things, but so far he’s stopped short of harming his children. Or so Claire says.”

He shot her a grave look.

“I gave her my number in case she ever needed to reach me, and she just texted me. She says things are bad right now and asked if I could give her a ride to a friend’s house.” Leah consulted the directions her phone had generated. “Stay straight until we get to Lemon Lane, then take a left.”

“Doesn’t this fall under the purview of child protective services?”

“CPS will get involved if they have reason to believe that a child is suffering emotional neglect. However, that’s a difficult accusation to prove in a way that’s legally binding.”