“You’re next, Eden,” Leo calls, flashing me a grin.
I raise an eyebrow. “You just want to see me get crushed.”
Ryan groans, still catching his breath. “Practice your moves on Eden, man. I’m done. Just…be careful with her, okay? You’re stronger than you realize.”
A voice cuts in behind me. “Let’s see some of those Jiu Jitsu moves first.”
I turn and forget how breathing works. Nate stands there, sixteen now, and it shows. His shoulders are broaderfrom hours on the ice, arms more defined, hair sticking up carelessly. The boy I remember has stretched into a lean and strong teenager. The way he looks at me makes my skin feel too tight.
“You’re going easy on me, right?” I ask, fighting to keep my tone steady. “You’re at least twenty pounds heavier than me.”
“Make that fifty.” His mouth curves in that crooked way that makes my heart skip. “But sure, Trouble. We’ll start easy.”
Leo smirks. “Don’t go easy! Make her work for it.”
We square off, the shore hot under our feet. I rush him first, using the sweep Leo drilled into me last week. To my shock, Nate rolls with the move, landing on his back with a laugh.
“Not bad.” He’s smiling as he looks up at me. “For a girl.”
Flushed with victory, I go again—confident this time. But Nate’s ready. He catches my wrist mid-motion, pivots, and suddenly I’m the one flat on my back in the sand, air whooshing out of me.
He pins me fast, one hand beside my head, the other light on my shoulder. But it’s not crushing—it’s careful, controlled. His weight settles over me, solid and warm, and every nerve ending I have sparks to life. This is nothing like wrestling with Leo or Ryan. This is something else entirely.
His eyes lock on mine, close enough that I can see gold flecks in them, close enough that his breath mingles with mine. Time stops. Everything stops except the wild hammering of my heart.
Heat floods through me, pooling low in my belly. I should push him off, laugh it off. But I don’t want to. That realization scares me more than anything.
“Hey!” Leo’s words cut through the moment, sharp as glass. “Get off her, man! You’re crushing my sister!”
Nate rolls off in one smooth motion, brushing beach debris from his chest with a quick laugh. But his stare flickers—whatever just passed between us, he felt it too.
“Relax, she’s fine,” he says easily, but his tone isn’t quite steady.
Leo mutters under his breath, eyes narrowed. He’s seeing things he doesn’t like. Nate flashes me a cocky grin, all casual again. “Guess I win.”
I sit up, cheeks burning. “You cheated.”
“Sure I did,” he admits, and his gaze lingers on me a beat longer before he jogs toward Leo.
I tell myself it was nothing. Just a game. But my heart is still pounding, and I know I’ll remember the weight of him over me, the way he looked at me, for the rest of my life.
Nate
Leo falls into step beside me as we head back toward the house, still brushing grit from his hands. He’s quiet for a moment, then his words turn sharp.
“She’s my sister, Russo. Hands off.”
I smirk, pretending it’s a joke. My chest feels tight.Hands off.Sure. Easy to promise when she’s fourteen and I’m supposed to be thinking about hockey and not much else.
Leo’s warning echoes in my head. It’s too late. She’s not Leo’s little sister anymore—she’s Eden, and the way she looked up at me, lips parted and cheeks flushed, just rewrote every rule I thought I understood.
I tell myself to rewind, to see her as a little girl again. But the way my heart’s pounding tells me that’s impossible.
18
TAKING IT SLOW (EDEN)
The door clicks shut, and I don’t move. I’m still braced against the treatment table—the only thing holding me up—my heart pounding so hard it hurts. My lips tingle, my skin feels too hot, and my brain is a wrecking yard of thoughts that don’t belong in this room.
