“Fine.” She grabbed the front of my shirt, pulling me down onto the bed beside her. “But I’m the little spoon. Non-negotiable.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it any other way.”
I settled behind her, pulling her back against my chest, my arm wrapping around her waist. She fit perfectly against me, like she was designed to occupy this exact space.
Her hand found mine in the darkness, fingers intertwining, and her breathing slowly evened out as she relaxed into me.
I lay there for a long time, staring at the ceiling, listening to the sound of her breathing, feeling the steady beat of her heart against my arm.
Soon, we would have to figure out how to tell Jax. I would have to face the fallout, the questions that came with dating your best friend’s sister.
But tonight, she was here. In my arms. In my bed. She was mine, and for the first time in longer than I could remember, everything felt exactly right.
CHAPTER 28
HARLOW
My textbook layopen on the floor, mocking me with its diagrams of the brachial plexus. The words kept rearranging themselves into meaningless shapes, my brain refusing to absorb any information that didn’t involve Owen’s hands, mouth, or the way he kissed me goodbye that morning.
Focus, Harlow. You have an exam in three days.
I shifted against the rug on Owen’s living room floor, papers and highlighters scattered around me.
My phone buzzed against my thigh, and I grabbed it.
Syn’s face filled the screen, her black hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun that was slowly escaping. The dark circles under her eyes matched my own.
“You look like shit,” she said by way of greeting.
“Hello to you, too. Really feeling the warmth. The love. The sisterly affection.”
“I’m serious.” She squinted at the camera, leaning closer like she could diagnose me through the screen. “Are you sleeping? You look like you haven’t slept in a week.”
“I’ve been studying.” Not technically a lie. Ihadbeen studying. Just... not as much as I should have been. “Anatomy is trying to kill me.”
“Eww.” She rolled her eyes. “I hope you’re not spending all your time studying. Please tell me you’re fitting some actual fun into your life.”
That was Syn, always the fun one, the life of every party, the person who could walk into a room full of strangers and leave with twelve new best friends. I was the opposite. Reserved. Quiet.
“How’s everything going over there?” I asked, desperate to redirect the conversation. “How’s Jax and Kaia? How’s my perfect little niece?”
“Everyone’s fine. Kailyn is adorable. Jax is exhausted. Kaia is exhausted. I’m exhausted.” She flopped back against what looked like a mountain of pillows, her phone tilting at a precarious angle. “But that’s not even the worst part.”
“What’s the worst part?”
Her face contorted into an expression of pure, undiluted disgust. “Jax’s new teammate.”
My brows lifted. “New teammate?”
“Some guy who just transferred. Ryat or something.” She waved her hand dismissively, like the mere act of remembering his name was beneath her. “I don’t know. I don’t care enough to retain the information. He’salwayshere. Always. Like he doesn’t have anywhere else on the entire planet to exist.”
I closed my textbook, sensing this conversation was about to require my full, undivided attention. “What’s wrong with him?”
“Whatisn’twrong with him?” Syn sat up. “He’s arrogant. He’s cocky. He walks around like he owns the place, which he doesn’t, by the way. He doesn’t ownanything. He’s a guest. Anunwantedguest.”
“Okay, but…”
“And he keeps eating my cereal, Harlow.Mycereal. I came downstairs yesterday morning, and he was just standing there,eating it straight from the box. With his hands. Like an animal. Like a feral raccoon.”
