Teasing.
Impossible to ignore.
“Everyone in front of the tree!” Josh calls, waving us over.
We crowd together. Ethan ends up beside me again, shoulder brushing mine. The camera flashes, freezing the golden light, thelaughter… and the subtle electricity humming between us that I pretend not to feel.
Dinner is chaos in the best way. Cas carves chicken like he’s fighting it. Dex flings a roll at him. Jude mutters something and shakes his head. Ethan leans across the table to pass me the gravy, his fingers grazing mine.
His eyes lift to mine, steady. Direct.
“You have warm hands,” he murmurs.
I open my mouth, but Grace speaks before I can.
“Aren’t you observant tonight,” she smirks.
Ethan winks at her.“When it comes to Summer, yes. Always.”
I don’t answer.
I bite my lip.
Pretend my pulse isn’t racing.
???
Later, Lily and Josh walk over to the piano.
“As the Hawthorne tradition requires,” Josh announces proudly,“we end the night with music.”
Then he turns to me.“You play, Summer?”
I hesitate.“I had lessons. My parents insisted at first. But… I love it now.”
“Then play,” he says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
I sit, fingers pausing over the keys, the room settling into a hush behind me.Silent Nightslips out, tentative at first, then steadier, fuller, like something inside me remembers before my mind does.
Voices join in.
Lily’s soft alto.
Grace’s clear harmony.
Josh’s low, steady hum.
Even the brothers, off-key, loud, but trying their absolute best.
And then there’s Ethan.
Leaning just behind me, close enough that warmth radiates from him, humming quietly along. His breath brushes my shoulder when he tilts toward the music, and my fingers tremble, not from nerves.
From him.
Always him.
We drift through several songs, the room glowing with soft yellow lamplight and tired smiles. Mia is curled up next to Grace on the couch, eyelids drooping.
