Dave's POV
The words left my mouth, that low, intentional tease, and I saw her reaction immediately. A flicker in her eyes, the slight, unconscious parting of her lips, before she sharply looked away. Her cheeks held the faintest hint of color. It sent a jolt straight through me, a feeling so intense and ridiculous it was like one of those old cartoons where a heart tries to leap right out of a character's chest.
She was here. She was staying here. In this house. The reality of it hit me all over again, a dizzying, dangerous thrill. I had to keep reminding myself—screaming it internally—that this Audrey wasn't my Audrey. My Audrey was back in another world, completely unaware of this insanity. They just shared a face, and a face, and maybe the defiant spirit.
But my body, my stupid, traitorous heart, didn't seem to get the memo. It reacted to her presence with the same old, familiar ache, twisted now with this new, volatile layer of protectiveness and sheer, stupid attraction.
