My smile faded, and I shifted on the sofa. "At the moment? I'm living at my aunt's place. You know that."
He gave me a look that I couldn't quite decipher. "Right."
"What'sthatlook for?"
"You're hiding something."
From what I'd seen so far, Drake almost always said what he was thinking.It was nice and occasionally awful.
Now was one of those awful times, and I couldn't help but sigh. "Alright, the truth is, I'm living with my mom."
"And that's a problem?"
"Well, Iamtwenty-five."
"Yeah, and I'm almost thirty. What of it?"
I glanced around.Thishouse was big and gorgeous with plenty of room. It was a far cry from my own. But it wasn't the size of the house that made my stomach curdle with anxiety whenever I thought of the placed I called home.
It was thefeelof it. The truth was, I would've moved out a long time ago if not for my two younger sisters. My mom wasn't terrible or anything. But shewasa little incautious when it came to men.
When I made no reply, Drake asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." I tried to laugh. "You know what? Let's talk about something else." I looked toward the window. "Like snow. I hear we're supposed to get a bunch of it."
When I looked back to Drake, he gave a solemn nod. "We should probably check the barometric pressure."
I hesitated. "Really?"
His gaze locked on mine. "No."
"What do you mean, 'no'?"
"I mean," he said, "I want to hear what's bothering you."
Chapter 19
Drake
Screw the barometric pressure.
I wanted to know what was making Gwen so uneasy. AndthenI wanted to pull her close and kiss away her concerns.
I didn't know what those concerns were. Not yet. But Ididknow that the crease between her eyes hadn't been there a moment ago.
These days, her eyes were easier to study. Her eyeglasses were long gone, and her hair was long and loose just the way I liked it.
As far as the eyes, I'd gotten used to seeing them filled with warmth and laughter, not the hollow look that haunted them now – a look that suggested whatever problem she had, it had been hanging around for a while.
Still, she tried for a smile as she asked, "But how do you know something's bothering me?"
Oh, I knew."Are you saying I'm wrong?"
"Not technically. But here's whatIwant to know. How'd we end up talking aboutme?"
"Whynotyou?" I asked.
"Because I'm the one who asked about your living situation."
