Page 35 of This Broken Heart

A surge of panic fills my chest, and I jerk my hand out of his.

I take a few steps back, trying to harden my heart to the look of pure concern on his handsome face.

“I need to use the bathroom.”

And with that, I speed down a hallway, diving into the first room I find.

22.

Josh

Well, shit.

Now I’ve gone and done it.

I’m not really sure what impulse compelled me to grab her hand like that, other than the fact that I just wanted to know what it would be like.

And that was a little like tipping the lid off Pandora’s box, because I didn’t expect holding Erin’s hand to feelthatnice.

It was a reckless thing to do, and now I get to deal with the consequences. I follow behind her, trying to form an explanation for my behavior, but I’m coming up short.

My head’s a mess these days. And her presence is the only thing I can count on.

I walk down the dark hallway, stopping in front of the room Erin dived into. My knuckles rap quietly on the oak panel.

“Someone’s in here.” Her voice is muffled and small.

My lips tug into a half smile. “Using the bathroom?”

There’s a slight pause. “Yup.”

“In Charlie’s bedroom?” A grin is stretching from ear to ear. “I don’t think she’d take kindly to that, Erin.”

I can hear her muttering a string of unladylike words on the other side of the door.

I press my forehead to the panel. “Can I come in?”

There’s a pause and then she opens the door. I slip inside, closing it behind me.

Was she always this short?

For some reason, she’s striking me as being particularly pocket-sized.

Her plump lips twist into a smile. “This isn’t the bathroom, is it?”

“No. Doesn’t seem like it.”

“Huh.”

I laugh, biting back a smile. “Were you trying to hide?”

“Maybe.”

I tuck my hands into my pockets to keep them from reaching out. “Why?”

She sighs, blowing a losing lock of hair from her forehead. “I might have panicked.”

My lips want to tug into a grin, but I muscle them into a straight line. “Why?”