He finally meets my eyes. There's something tired in his expression. Honest and unguarded.
"She made the first ones. Showed me how to get them right. Then said if you were going to trust someone else to make them... it might as well be me."
My throat tightens.
I thought she was trying to stay close. That she'd sat with me that morning because she loved me.
But maybe it was more than that.
Maybe she was sharing a piece of herself—passing it to him, so I could still have it, even after she was gone.
"I didn’t know," I whisper.
Gray shrugs like it’s nothing. But he adds a little extra cheese, just the way I like it. Like maybe it’s not nothing at all.
The Ether stirs around my ankles, responding to something in his voice. Or maybe to the way he's looking at me—like he sees the magic she was talking about, even if I don't understandit yet.
Footsteps on the stairs announce the arrival of others. Jace appears first, golden hair sticking up at impossible angles, followed by Wes looking at me like he's hungry and slightly desperate.
Jace whistles low under his breath. "Damn, B. If you were going for casual murder, it's working."
Wes blinks hard. "Wait, is that Rhett's sweatshirt?"
"I thought it was mine," Rhett mutters as he appears behind them, but there's no heat in it—just a quiet possessiveness he doesn't bother hiding.
Wes swallows loudly. "I'm gonna... get coffee." He nearly fumbles the mug, and Jace claps him on the back with an obnoxious grin.
"You good, bro?"
"Totally," Wes says, voice cracking slightly. "Totally good."
Theo doesn't comment when he appears, but his gaze lingers for a beat too long, curious and unreadable.
"Please tell me someone made coffee," Wes says, beelining for the counter where a pot is already waiting. Of course it is.
"And please tell me no one made Bree cook," Jace adds, taking in the scene. "Because last time she tried to make breakfast for all of us, we ended up ordering pizza at eight in the morning."
"Hey," I protest, but there's no heat in it. "That was one time."
"One memorable time," Rhett says, appearing with Theo close behind. He surveys the kitchen, noting the golden toast, the perfect eggs Gray is plating, the general lack of smoke alarms going off. "Good call letting Gray handle it."
"Okay,butlet’s not forget the curry night," Wes adds, already pouring his coffee. “That was basically art.”
"True," Jace says, nudging me with his elbow. “Youdidredeem yourself with that. I’m still dreaming about it.”
I duck my head, smiling despite myself. "That was different. I actually knew what I was doing."
"We noticed," Rhett says, voice softer now. “Still think about it sometimes.
Theo doesn't say anything, but he catches my eye and smiles—soft and knowing and somehow proud.
They settle around the kitchen with the easy familiarity of people who've done this before. Jace claims a stool at the counter. Wes hovers near the coffee pot like it might disappear if he looks away. Rhett starts pulling plates from cabinets that definitely weren't open yesterday but seem to be expecting him now.
It's domestic and comfortable and everything I never thought I could have, even in this new space.
That's when Thane walks in.
His gaze sweeps the room once—cataloging the group, the breakfast, the comfort. Then it lands on me. He doesn't flinch, doesn't look away. Just watches in that unblinking, measuring way of his. Like he's logging every exposed inch of skin, not for desire—but for what it might cost.
