The pain is blinding.
My body goes limp.
As my eyes flutter closed, he murmurs, “Too bad. You’re a pretty thing. But you should have stayed out of this.”
Out of what?
But it’s too late for the answer.
Too late for anything.
Darkness encroaches.
Then everything goes black.
CHAPTER 2
INDY
“Doyou have to kiss my sister right in front of me?”
I whip a french fry at Rafe before adding, “I know you’re engaged and all that. But right at the dinner table? Is that really necessary?”
Rafe snatches the fry out of the air and throws it back at me. “Yes.” He flashes me a shit-eating grin. “Itisnecessary.” Then he kisses Eden—mylittlesister, I may add—again. “Eden’s going to be my wife. So I’ll kiss her whenever I want.”
I reach for another french fry, but interfering Ace pulls my plate away before I can grab one. “He has a point,” Ace says. “They’re living together. Getting married. A little kissing should be the least of your worries.”
From one end of the table, Webb chimes in, “Just think if they decide to have kids. And you’re worried about kissing?”
Tyler catches my eye from the opposite end of the table. “He’s not wrong, Indy. If Rafe and Eden want to have kids…”
My teeth grind together, sending shooting pains through my jaw and down my neck. “I know they’re getting married. Which, for the record, I support. But we’re having dinner. And I lookacross the table to see my sweet little sister kissing my best friend.”
“Indy.” Eden shakes her head at me. Her voice is gently scolding. “I thought we went through this already. You said you were okay with it.”
Leaning over, I grab a carrot stick from Ace’s plate and flick it at Eden. She must have been taking lessons from Rafe, because she catches it and tosses it right back at me. “Nice catch,” I concede with a smile.
“I thought so,” she replies with a little smirk. “Now. Are you going to stop acting like Windy Indy or what?”
Rafe snorts.
My molars nearly grind to dust. “What did we say about calling me that?” I ask.
Her eyes widen innocently. “Whatdidwe say about it? I don’t remember.”
Ace leans forward, resting his elbows on the glossy wooden table. “What’s this about Windy Indy? I don’t think I’ve heardthatnickname before.”
“You wouldn’t have,” I mutter. “Not ifsomeonekept her mouth shut.”
Eden brightens as she turns to Ace. “Oh, it’s a funny story. Back when Indy and I were kids, and he was being particularly annoying?—”
“You mean all the time,” Rafe interrupts with a chuckle. He loops his arm around Eden’s shoulders and leans over to kiss her cheek. “I’ve heard the stories.”
“Well, when Indy was being annoying,” Eden continues, “I started calling him Windy Indy. Especially when his friends were over. It was really funny.”
I pin Eden with a glare. “Funny like when you bought a whoopie cushion and kept setting it off while I was trying to play video games with my friends? And when you concocted thatmixture with the horrible stench? So they all thought I had toxic farts?”
Webb bursts out laughing. “Windy Indy. I love it.”
