I lean forward, elbows on the table. “Here’s the thing, peaches. We’re not trying to put a leash on you. Okay, well, Graham might be—but he’d do it with a silk ribbon and then ask if you were warm enough while he lectured you about danger.”
She lets out a quiet laugh, and I grin, but then I sober, watching her carefully.
“And it’s not just Finn.”
She stills.
“You don’t say his name. But I see the way you look at Landon too.”
She blinks, a sharp inhale barely masked by her next sip of coffee.
“Doesn’t matter if we’re at practice or walking past him on the street—you feel him. Still. I can see it.”
She sets the mug down, not looking at me.
“And now I know,” I say, voice lower, softer. “He wasn’t just some ex. He was your scent match.”
Her shoulders tense, waiting for me to judge her for it.
I don’t.
“That changes things,” I admit. “Because I thought he just broke your heart. I didn’t realize he was written into your bones.”
She lifts her gaze slowly, eyes cautious, uncertain.
“But here’s what it doesn’t change,” I say. “You’re not alone in this. Not with him. Not with Finn. Not with anything. We’re not going anywhere.”
Her throat works attempting to swallow a thousand things at once. Doubts. Regrets. Hope she doesn’t know how to express.
“If you want to figure it out—with either of them—we’re not going to stop you,” I say. “We’d just rather help you do it safely than watch you tear yourself apart trying to pretend you don’t still feel something.”
The silence stretches, but it’s not heavy.
It’s thick with possibility.
She finally exhales, slow and shaky. “You guys are supposed to make this easier.”
I raise a brow. “Since when have I ever made your life easier?”
That earns a snort, and something flickers in her eyes again. Lighter. Not quite peace, but close.
“You really don’t hate either of them?” she asks.
“No. But I’ll still punch Finn if he hurts you.”
She nods, quiet for a beat. “And Landon?”
I hesitate. Then shrug.
“He messed up. Big time. But I don’t think he’s the same guy who let you go.”
Her eyes meet mine, raw and open.
“And I don’t think you’re the same girl who would let him break you again. If you want to figure out what’s going on between you and Finn and Landon…” I pause, carefully choosing my words. “Then we’d rather help you do that safely than watch you run headfirst into it with no support.”
She blinks.
“I mean, preferably with clothes on next time,” I tease. “But hey, who am I to judge?”
