“Very,” I say, a smile dancing across my lips. The truth is, I’ve never been happier.
Finn shifts his gaze to Jace. “We haven’t had a chance to talk yet, but I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what will happen if you break her heart.”
Jace stiffens slightly. “No, you don’t,” he says, shaking his head. “Although, I won’t be breaking her heart.”
Noah gives Jace a pointed look before glancing at Finn as he picks his acoustic guitar from one of the other chairs. “I’ve already told him.”
A bright white light flashes at the end of the driveway, grabbing both of my brothers’ attention. The lights grow brighter as they head in our direction. “Who’s that?”
“Oh shit,” I mumble, letting out a soft laugh. “I forgot to tell you guys that I invited Natalie over. We were supposed to hangout this evening, so I just told her to come here.”
Finn nods, not fully paying attention as he grabs Otto’s collar, murmuring to him. Otto has never been aggressive, but he is territorial and if Finn doesn’t hold him, he’s going to be the first one to greet Natalie.
“Natalie, Natalie?” Noah says, glancing at me before looking back over at the car that pulls up by the edge of the yard.
“Yeah, is that okay?”
His expression is unreadable and he eagerly nods, setting his guitar back down before turning back to the fire. He absentmindedly pokes at it with his stick. “Yeah, of course.”
Jace chuckles again, soft enough that no one hears him but me and he presses a kiss to the side of my neck before releasing me. I glance over my shoulder and flash him a smile before heading across the yard to Natalie.
She’s climbing out of her car by the time I reach her. She turns back to pull out a basket covered with cloth and her green eyes meet mine. “Hey! Sorry, I’m a little late. I was waiting for the muffins to cool.”
“Muffins?”
She smiles brightly and nods while handing me the basket. “I tried this new recipe for maple butter muffins and they actually turned out really yummy, so I wanted to bring some along for everyone.”
“You’re so sweet,” I say, pulling back the cloth to sneak a peek in the basket. The saccharine scent of maple and sugar wafts from within. “They smell delicious.”
“They taste as good as they smell,” she assures me with a wink. “I’ve had my fair share of muffins the last few days.”
“I’m sure,” I say with a laugh, waving my arm toward the fire pit. “Come on, everyone’s at the fire.” I turn on my heel and Natalie falls into step beside me as we head back to where my brothers and Jace are.
“Hey, Natalie,” Jace says cheerfully.
Finn lifts his hand and gives her a small wave as he says “Hi.”
“Hey, guys,” Natalie smiles at both of them, walking over to the other side of Finn and taking the empty seat next to him.
“Hey, Noah,” she says to his back as he crouches down by the fire as if he’s inspecting the logs.
His behavior is…strange.
“Hey Natalie,” he says quietly, his gaze flicking to hers. His throat bobs and his eyes linger for a moment, drifting over her face before swiftly directing his attention back to the fire.
“You want some hot chocolate?” Finn asks her, lifting his mug in the air. “It’s extrahot.”
Rolling my eyes, I step closer to Jace. “It’s spiked, is what he means.”
Natalie smiles politely and shakes her head at him. “No, thank you. I’m not a big drinker, and I never drink and drive.”
Finn gives her a look of appreciation. “I like this one.”
Noah’s spine straightens, his body rigid as his gaze flicks to Finn. Finn doesn’t notice, but I see the way his eyebrows cinch closer together.
“Did you see that?” I whisper to Jace, ducking my face closer to his chest.
“See what?”
