Xander arrived at eight. I heard his footsteps, his voice as he greeted someone in the hallway. Normally, my heart would race and I'd find an excuse to look busy or hide or avoid him.

Today, I felt nothing.

He walked past my desk and I didn't look up. Didn't react. Just kept staring at the email I'd been pretending to read for the past twenty minutes.

His footsteps paused. I could feel him looking at me, sense his attention fixed on me the way I always could.

But I didn't have the energy to ...