My gaze yo-yoed between Reed’s sports car and my fiancés as he pulled in behind my Audi, blocking me in.
Next to the sleek, classy paintwork of the Bugatti, the Porsche looked like it belonged in a cartoon.
And then it struck me. Shit. Jasper was in the house. Panic clawed its way up my chest and wrapped itself around my throat.
My fingers automatically swept through my hair to neaten it as Nix came to stand beside me. His expression took in my reaction as I tried to pretty myself for Reed. Like that even mattered now. I knew deep inside that Reed liked me just the way I was. It was something he would say all the time.
I still quickly straightened my clothes, feeling like a sack of shit.
“You look fine,” Phoenix remarked out of the corner of his mouth, tugging on some strands of hair.
“I don’t know what you mean?” I huffed.
An incredulous snort left his lips. “Whatever, sis. You have a very revealing blush.”
Astonishment made it difficult for me to speak as Reed slid out from behind the wheel and made his way towards us. Blush be damned, I was surprised I didn’t melt into a puddle. He looked that fucking hot.
His expression was bright, considering he should have come to me crawling.
“Hey, bro,” Nix said as Reed approached with a confident, forward-leaning posture. “You’re looking considerably dapper considering how trashed you got last night.”
“I wasn’t trashed,” Reed volleyed back, his confident expression wavering slightly as he glanced at me. I kept my face stony.
“You were babbling like a moron when I put you in the cab, man.”
Reed’sI am going to murder youexpression was masked as quickly as it appeared as he turned towards me. “Morning, Teacup. Great weather today,” he chirped in a breezy voice. I wasn’t in the mood for small talk. Despite the looming death threat, the boys bumped fists before the annoying man who had stood me added. “Good morning at the gym?” Looking me up and down.
Yes, where you were supposed to fucking meet me.
The cavalier attitude made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I’d showered as I always did after one of Harper’s gruelling yoga sessions, but I still felt like a sweaty mess. It didn’t help that Reed looked delicious in dark jeans and a black tee with Fendi on the front. His hair was also neater than usual, and he’d shaved. And then I noticed the rest of his face. Reed had a black eye and a cut above his eyebrow.
He’d been fighting. I knew they’d been together the previous night, and so that tied in with my earlier observation of Phoenix's slightly bruised cheeks and the cut on his head.
The first thing that fell out of my mouth was, “What the hell are you doing here?” I glanced up at the house. His closeness affected me instantly, like my body had been hijacked and would do anything Reed-shaped.
“I take it you didn’t get my voicemail?”
“My phone died.” I lied.
“Well, you messaged that we need to talk,” Reed explained, motioning between us with one hand and shoving the other into the pocket of his pants. The gesture forced my focus onto his crotch before I managed to raise my chin and break away from that risky area. I wasn’t fooled by his relaxed pose or his deceptively mild tone.
Shaking my hair back, I waved a hand around the space as I exclaimed. “Yes, but not here.” The lump in my throat was making it hard to talk. My jaw was clenched with all the words I wanted to say, but couldn’t.
I could feel Phoenix, looking back and forth with a smile painted on his face.
“Sounds like you kids have got things to discuss.”
Ignoring my brother, I added, “Are you insane?”
Reed released an impatient snort. “Nope. Everyone knows I’m the fun one. You're confusing me with Hudson.”
A spiteful comment fell from my lips before I could haul it back, “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time, would it?”
His face dropped, and he yanked his hands from his jeans, “The fuck is that supposed to mean?” I had once used Hudson to try to make Reed jealous, and it had worked a treat.
“Play nice, you two,” Nix interjected.
“Fuck off,” both Reed and I barked at the same time.
