NATHAN
Now
The tension in mybody deflated the moment I laid eyes on Brenna.
She gaped at me, her lips parted in the most distracting way. She wore leggings and a sleepshirt, like she often had around our house. So many moments pressed against each other, savoring the closeness, never wanting to move even an inch.
Leo let out a whistle. “Okay, now I get it.” I cringed, waiting for an out-of-pocket comment, but he only smirked. “I’ve never seen you look at anyone else like that before.”
I stuffed my hands in my pockets. “Brenna, this is Leo, my teammate and roommate. Leo, this is Brenna.”
“What he means to say is that I’m his friend.” Leo held out his hand to Brenna. When she placed her hand in his, he lifted it to his mouth, kissing the back.
I smacked his arm. “Knock it off, man.”
Leo laughed. “Oh… this jealous side is new too.”
“Who is it?” A voice called from deep inside the house—one I recognized as Kathy Quinn.
Brenna didn’t respond. Instead, she took a step onto the porch and shut the door behind her. “Nathan, what are you doing here?”
“You’re here, Bren. I belong wherever you are.”
Leo cleared his throat. “I’ll give y’all some space. Very nice meeting you, Brenna,” he said before reopening the door and strolling inside, as if it wasn’t his first time here.
Brenna pointed behind her. “Will he…”
I waved a dismissive hand. “He’ll be fine. He can charm anyone.”
Without warning, Brenna jumped to me, wrapping her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist. After shaking off the initial surprise, I clutched her to me, breathing her in, running my fingers through her hair, convincing myself she was real. She was here.
We were together.
“I’ve missed you so much.”
The knot in the center of my chest unfurled at her words.
“Me too, Bren.” I held her tighter. “Me too.”
“Why are you here?”
I sucked in a breath, ready to put it all on the line. “I tried life without you, Brenna. It doesn’t work.”
The door swung open to reveal my least favorite person on the planet. Brenna wriggled out of my grip. Kathy crossed her arms, curled her lip in distaste, and locked her eyes on me. Thank fuck looks couldn’t kill.
“Nathaniel,” she said. It wasn’t even my name. “I believethis onebelongs to you.”
I smothered a laugh. We’d found the one woman immune to Leo McGinnis’s charms.
“We are not in a position to host unexpected guests,” Kathy said, looking at Brenna.
“I’ll make space in my room, if it’s an imposition,” Brenna replied.
“No need to make space.” Leo winked at Bren and me. “We can squeeze.”
Brenna gripped my hand and pulled me past Kathy into the house. I smacked Leo lightly on the back of his head as we passed.
“Nathan!” Molly’s voice rang out from the top of the stairs. Her face fit snugly in the banister as she watched us in the foyer. “Come see my room! Wait—who’s that?”
