It’s who’s behind him that freezes me in place.
Knox.
He doesn’t say anything at first. He stands there in the doorway, shoulders hulking in a black Henley that fits too well, his dark hair slightly mussed like he drove with the windows down. He looks like he doesn’t know if he’s welcome here or not.
His eyes find mine instantly.
And just like that, the air is sucked from the room.
The string lights seem too bright. The laughter fades to a low buzz. My heart beat kicks like it’s trying to punch its way out of my ribs.
“What the hell?” I whisper to Dee, barely moving my lips.
She leans in. “I didn’t invite him.”
“Well someone did.”
Jace elbows Knox lightly. “Come on, man. Don’t look so serious. It’s just game night.”
Just game night.
I try to swallow the laugh bubbling up in my throat, but it comes out brittle and wrong. Everyone’s watching him now, some subtly, some not. Even Bea has paused her matchmaking notes to give him the once-over.
“Josie,” Knox says, voice quiet but firm.
I flinch like I’ve been tapped by lightning. “Hi.”
That’s all I can manage.Hi.
His gaze flicks down my body, pausing for half a second too long. I know what he’s seeing—the hair, the makeup, the pretendversion of me I barely recognize. I wonder if he can tell it’s all a costume. If he can see the panic pressed beneath the shimmer on my cheekbones.
Before Knox can say another word, someone from the other side of the room bellows:
“Hey! Are you two just gonna stand there making googly eyes, or are you actually gonna play?! We need one more for Jenga or this whole tower’s coming down in disgrace!”
It’s Mayor Willa, holding up a wobbly stack of oversized blocks like the fate of the world depends on it. Half the room laughs. The other half, mostly the competitive ones, start shouting over each other.
“Get in here, Knightly!”
“Josie’s on my team! She’s good under pressure!”
“She is not! She folds faster than a lawn chair!”
“Hey!” I shoot back. “I only folded once, and that was because someone, Maya, stacked all the blanks at the bottom!”
“Strategic genius, not sabotage. Learn the difference.”
The attention shifts, the energy pulling like a tide, sweeping us both forward before I can decide whether to run or faint.
Dee gives me a gentle nudge with her hip. “You heard them, sunshine. Time to defend your game night honor.”
I blink up at her. “I think I left my honor in the kitchen. Next to my dignity.”
“You look like you’ve got both in spades,” she says, then adds under her breath, “Andhehasn’t stopped looking at you since he walked in, so maybe just breathe?”
But I can’t.
Not really.
