His laugh fades. “Wait. You’re joking, right?”
Callum raises both hands. “Obviously.”
“Because she’s my sister.”
Evan nods. “Right. Off-limits. Got it.”
Ben pushes up from his chair. “I’m going to make lunch.”
Callum moves to the fire and picks up the poker, prodding the logs. “You’re thinking about it.” He keeps his voice low enough that Ben can’t hear him.
I don’t answer.
Evan stretches his arm across the back of the couch. “You are. I can see it.”
“It’s not an option.”
Callum sets the poker down and turns. “Why not?”
“Because Ben would kill us.”
Evan stands. “Let’s table this. We’ve got time.”
Callum heads to the kitchen. Evan follows. I stay by the fire. And Tania hasn’t moved.
She lifts her head and pauses, waiting for me to say something.
I don’t.
Then she stands, picks up the book from the couch, and walks past me toward the stairs.
I watch her go.
The problem isn’t whether it would work. The problem is, I already know it would.
CHAPTER 3
Tania
Ispend the afternoon in my room with the door cracked open, pretending to read.
The book stays open on the same page for an hour. My eyes track the words, but I don't absorb them. Outside, the lake reflects gray clouds that never break.
Downstairs, voices rise and fall. Ben’s low and steady. Callum’s sharp. Silas cutting through when things get loud. Evan smoothing over edges.
I don’t go down.
Around one, my stomach reminds me I haven’t eaten since breakfast. I head downstairs and find them in the living room, chairs pulled close, voices lower now. Ben sees me first and stops mid-sentence.
“Hey.” I keep my tone light. “Just grabbing lunch.”
“We’re ordering sandwiches,” Evan offers. “Want one?”
“I’m good. There’s leftover salmon.”
I heat the plate in the microwave and eat standing at the counter, watching the lake through the windows. Behind me, their conversation resumes in murmurs I don’t try to decode.
When I rinse my plate and head back upstairs, none of them stop me.
