As my sister moves to my side, we all turn toward the parking lot, away from the terminal.
My phone buzzes in my pocket no more than a few minutes later. When I pull it out, my heart skips—there’s already a text from Keo.
Keo
Download Minecraft.
Why?
Just do it
22
Well, tonight hasn’t gone exactly as planned.
This is what I get for trying to do something semi-romantic with my stepbrother. Because while I didn’t say it was a date, I absolutely implied—and wanted—it to be one.
The restaurant was reservation-only. Should’ve expected that for a Saturday night.
We ended up sitting in the car for a while, both of us dressed for a fancy dinner neither of us was going to eat. But somehow, without saying a word, we knew what the other was thinking. Alysa used to say she and Ayden had those twin moments—silent exchanges that needed no explanation.
I’m glad Ayden and I aren’t related by blood. Because one, that would be weird. And two, if we were, I’d probably have to move to another country with the way I’m attracted to him.
“The food was… okay,” Ayden says, leaning back in the red leather booth of the diner we settled on. “But the ice cream seriously made up for it.”
He runs his tongue along the swirl of caramel and vanilla, slow and unbothered, like he doesn’t know what it’s doing to me. My eyes lock on his mouth, and for the life of me, I don’t know how I’m supposed to resist leaning across the table and tasting the sweetness off his lips.
We’ve spent the better part of the last half hour just laughing—not about the heavy stuff from the past eight years, but about high school. Stupid stories and little memories, the kind that still make us laugh until our sides hurt.
Only when the conversation drifted to me leaving for college did the mood shift back toward the present.
“I didn’t mention this,” Ayden says, licking a smudge of caramel off his thumb, “but I met the neighbors. Or, well, two cabins. Evelyn and Levi Black—they’re the new residents in Echo Ridge. The girl from Sanderson Pine, Calista, was there as well.”
His chuckle rolls out, light and easy, and damn, I love hearing it. Especially when it’s genuine, and not forced. Lately, those fake flashes have been fewer, but they still creep in sometimes.
“I told you Clover jumped on my throat and caused that bruise? Yeah… that girl Evelyn is crazy.”
I’ve never seen red so fast in my life.
“Excuse me?” I’m halfway out of my seat, to do what I have no idea, before he throws up a hand.
“It was a misunderstanding.”
Christ, he should’ve led with that. “Did she hit you?”
“Mmm… more like put me into a headlock.”
“What the fuck?—”
“She thought I was peeping on them, I think.”
My jaw tightens. I’ve never hit a woman before—and I hope to God it stays that way.
“Anyway,” he goes on. “I think I’m going to hang out with Calista while you’re at work. If you’re good with that.”
My brows knit together. “Uh… yeah?”
“Cool.” He takes a bite of his ice cream cone, teeth crunching right through it, and I shudder.
