Nothing there but patience. He simply waited, not moving, not filling the silence with anything.
"I'll go slow," he said, quieter now.
I stood there with my fingers twisted into my sleeves, heart beating faster than I wanted it to.
"You've trusted worse," Tala muttered. "Remember the cafeteria incident? Jimmy acted nice and glued you to the chair."
That didn't help at all.
But I stepped forward anyway.
One step onto the ice and the snow gave way to hard, slick cold beneath my boot. My heart hammered. I took another.
My foot slid slightly. I reached out without deciding to, and hesitant and unsteady, I placed my hand in his.
The moment our skin touched, warmth sparked through me, sharp and immediate, moving up my arm and settling under my ribs like an ember catching. My breath caugh
