Emma's POV

The car ride was quiet. Like awkward first date, elevator-stuck-with-your-boss kind of quiet. Damon had both hands on the wheel, his eyes fixed on the road like he was driving to the moon. No music, no small talk, just... air. And while silence might be his love language, I was dying inside. I'd rather wrestle a raccoon than sit through twenty more minutes of this quiet doom.

So naturally, I reached for the car's stereo like it owed me rent.

"Don't mind me," I muttered, already ...