She finally turned around. Even in simple sweats, Gretchen was her muse. “It really did.” They looked at one another for a moment that dragged on, and Jax soaked up every detail of the silence, sentiment, and small smile on Gretchen’s gorgeous face.

“Okay,” Gretchen said, looking at the floor before turning to the door. “Good night, Jax.”

“Good night, Gretchen.” Jax felt her hard edges soften as she watched Gretchen leave.

She looked back at her painting of Aurora, and she felt different somehow, like she understood life a little better now—not the loss or the accident, but the connection. She lost her inspiration the day she lost Gretchen, and she stayed in her job to punish herself. She should’ve never walked away from Gretchen because when she did, she walked away from the greatest joy in her life, her family.

Jax tucked the painting into a box, careful not to crease it, and closed up the room for the night. When she finally went to bed, fatigue was slow to hit. Jax shifted to her side. Her mind was going a million miles a minute with thoughts of Gretchen and whether she really did come upstairs just to say good night. Was she expecting more? Did she want more? All these questions led Jax to wonder how they ended up having sex last time. She laughed into the quiet room. Jax didn’t believe there was actually a last time, but Gretchen believed it. Jax knew her job was to prove Gretchen’s predictions wrong, but did that mean she have to prove all of them wrong?

Chapter Thirty-five

33 days, 7 hours, 11 minutes

Jax jumped when Gretchen opened the bedroom door before she even knocked. “Holy shit,” she said, grasping her chest, “you can predict the future.”

Gretchen rubbed her eyes. “No, I just heard you out here and thought you were Caleb. What are you doing?” Gretchen looked back into the room. “It’s almost four in the morning.”

“I couldn’t sleep.” Her explanation was too simplistic but said it all. “Can I sleep with you?”

Gretchen shot her a sleepy smirk. “Are you sure you’re not Caleb?”

“Yes, but I did teach him a lot of his tricks.”

They climbed into bed and minutes passed. Jax figured Gretchen was already asleep, but then Gretchen rolled on her side and moved the covers around. She looked at the back of Gretchen’s head.