His jaw twitched, and with a shake of his head, he turned and left me alone in the kitchen, and if I hadn’t already been leaning against the counter, I’d have collapsed on the floor. Holy intensity Batman. Connor was beyond intense, and I had no idea what information I could offer him to keep him from hating me for just existing.
Maybe it was time for me to try a little harder to fit into the house? A peace offering of sorts…
Deciding to briefly stop acting like being here was the worst thing to happen in my life, I got to work in the kitchen, preparing the breakfast of a lifetime.
An hour later, the old table was laden with my full breakfast repertoire, including homemade pancakes, fluffy scrambled eggs, stewed tomatoes, crispy bacon, toast, and fresh orange juice that I’d had to hand squeeze because there was no juicer here.
Brodie and Ethan had popped their heads in a few times while I was working, but I shooed them away, wanting to do this on my own.
“Breakfast!” I called, when I was satisfied everything had come out perfectly. My guardians had been huge foodies, and I’d learned how to cook at their side. This was a part of my life I was solidly confident in.
To my surprise, Andrew was the first through the door, perfectly pressed of course. He eyed the table I’d set, and then his gaze came back to my face. For a brief moment, I remembered that second we’d locked eyes in the girl’s bathroom, but there was no real awkwardness as he smiled. “This was a really nice thing to do, Eve.”
I gestured for him to sit as Brodie and Ethan arrived, shoving to see who got through the door first. Ethan ended up just in front, and he brushed a hand across the sliver of skin between my jeans and shirt before he took a seat too.
Brodie dropped a kiss on my cheek. “Bestie, this looks amazing! Marry me?”
Rolling my eyes, I shoved him away. “You know it’s illegal to have more than one wife, right? Sure you want to tie yourself down?”
“For you, I’d tie myself to anything. Mostly the bed, but also other things.”
Ethan laughed, and I was relieved to find that he looked amused by the shit coming out of Brodie’s mouth.
When the three of them were seated, I glanced toward the door, wondering if the other two were still in the house. With a sigh, I almost gave up and sat too, but then Haze appeared—silent, as always—and the relief I felt at seeing him was beyond just wanting him here for breakfast.
He intrigued me and occupied my thoughts far too often for a guy that was both a ghost and an enigma.
“I made breakfast,” I said stupidly.Fuck, Evelyn. Get it together.
Haze’s stoic expression wavered slightly as he nodded. “I know.”
That had me wondering if he’d known before I called them into the room.
As he took a seat, Ethan shouted, “Connor!”
To my surprise, not even a second later, his brother strode into the room. He didn’t acknowledge me, or anyone else really, just took a seat beside Andrew and immediately started to fill his plate.
Yep, he wasn’t going to make it easy, but I was determined that by the time our punishment here was done, I’d win over everyone in this house.
I’d be the best fucking housemate they’d ever had in their lives, and they’d wonder how they ever lived without me.
21
EVELYN
My thighs clenched, my pussy throbbing as I shifted in my seat and wet my lips. I needed to concentrate, but it was our first class back since the night of the storm, and all I could focus on was what it felt like to have Ethan’s head buried between my legs and?—
“What are you thinking about?” Brodie asked in my ear, and I just about jumped out of my seat. He smirked knowingly. “Something dirty, I’ll bet.”
Brodie. Shit. Now I was thinking about his kiss and whether it was a one-off. What would he do if I leaned in right now and?—
“Shut up,” Andrew hissed from my other side. “Some of us don’t have an automatic passing grade in this class.”
My eyes widened and I stared at him in shock. If I’d been under any illusions that Connor would keep my secrets, that dispelled them.
“Is there a problem, Ms. Lewis?” Ethan asked from the front of the class, his voice projecting with authority that made my face flush…and not with embarrassment.
I cleared my throat, willing my cheeks to stop burning. “No, sir. No problems here.”
