“You can come out now,” Darby says loudly.
My eyes widen, and I freeze. Grey winces as unsure as I am about what happens next.
“Kari, your car’s outside, and your hoodie’s hanging on the back of the chair. You’re about as stealthy as a marching band in Times Square.”
I swallow hard. So much for easing into this.
I step forward, rounding the corner like a kid about to get grounded, my heart hammering so hard it makes my throat ache. The living room comes into view—and so does Darby, sprawled across Grey’s couch like she owns the place, arms crossed over a throw pillow, expression unreadable.
The second she sees me, she hurls the pillow straight at my head. “I am so mad at you.”
I yelp, barely catching it before it hits my face. My worst fear has become a reality.
Grey
“Knock it off, Darby!” I bark as Kari barely manages to deflect the pillow before it smacks her in the face.
Darby doesn’t flinch. She just points at her, eyes blazing. “Do you have any idea how worried I was?” She pushes herself up onthe couch, running purely on adrenaline and fumes. “I thought you’d run off with that Fans Only guy or gotten kidnapped. Or both. Like—kidnapped by the Fans Only guy.”
Kari blinks. “What?”
“I grabbed the first bus out of Chicago,” Darby barrels on, pacing now, hands flying. “Nobody answers their damn phone. Not you.” She points at Kari. “Not you.” She points at me. “I had to ride-share from the bus station with some dude who talked non-stop about his fantasy football league, and I haven’t slept, I haven’t had coffee, and then I get here—” She gestures wildly toward the front door. “—and your car’s out front, shacked up with my darling, perfect brother.”
She makes a loud gagging noise.
Kari and I stare, stunned with front-row seats to a one-woman show.
Darby finally stops pacing and looks between us. Her shoulders sag. “You guys.” Her voice cracks just enough to make my chest tighten. “Everyone’s hooking up. Moving in together. Getting engaged. And now you two. My best friend and my perfect brother.”
Kari moves first. She always does when it comes to Darby.
She crosses the room and pulls her into a hug on the couch. “Oh, Darbs,” she says softly. “We didn’t plan this. I’m sorry you found out this way. You know I couldn’t have kept it from you.”
Darby’s chin trembles. Then she nods, pressing her face into Kari’s shoulder as tears spill over. “I know,” she says thickly. “And I’m—” She sniffles. “I’m really happy for you.”
I’m still in my boxers, more exposed than I care to be. Pretty sure my brain short-circuited somewhere between perfect brother and shacked up. I shake my head and back toward the hallway. “I’m going to get dressed.”
“And you—” Darby says sharply.
I stop dead.
She points at me, eyes red but fierce. “You better not break her heart, or I will hunt you down.”
Kari squeezes her tighter, murmuring something soothing.
I tilt my head, deadpan. “You’re ridiculous. You know that?”
She snorts. “I know.”
“And you wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
She wipes at her face and grins. “Also true. But I’ve always wanted to say that.”
Kari pulls back just enough to look at her. “So… you’re not mad? We’re okay?”
Darby rolls her eyes like Kari just asked the dumbest question on earth. “Of course I’m not mad.” Then she brightens. “But I would feel better if you hooked me up with that hot guy on Fans Only you told me about.”
Kari’s head snaps up. Our eyes meet. And we both lose it.
