“Those things are still true,” I said quietly.
“I know.” He looked at me then, really looked. “But Ihavethought about how weird it’s going to be when we’re not on the same team. Different cities. Different schedules. Not living side-by-side anymore. I didn’t expect it to mess with me so much, but it does.”
Something twisted in my chest. “Yeah. Same.”
He exhaled slowly. “So when the other night happened, it was startling. But it didn’t feel wrong. Just unexpected. It’s not like they make an instruction manual for how to feel when your stepbrother goes down on you.”
It was my turn to laugh. “You’re ridiculous.”
He smiled. “What Icantell you, though, is that I’m not shutting it down. I’m not pretending it didn’t happen. I might not be ready to slap a label on it or promise something I don’t fully understand yet. But I’m willing to see where things go, not just with Faye but with you too.”
Relief washed through me. “That’s all I was hoping for. I don’t need answers right now. I just didn’t want you to regret it or think that I was trying to force something.”
“I don’t think that. And for the record, I don’t regret any of it.”
My pulse kicked up.
He held my gaze. “We’ll take things slowly without blowing up what we already have.”
“That works for me,” I agreed. “I’m not in a rush.”
The tension in my body eased.
“Thanks for talking to me.”
“Yeah,” he replied.
Soft footsteps sounded on the stairs, and Faye appeared at the edge of the kitchen, wrapped in one of my T-shirts, sleep still heavy in her eyes. She took one look at us and lifted an eyebrow. “Am I interrupting?”
“No.” Jase gave her a grin. “We’re good.”
I nodded. “Yeah. We’re good.”
22
Faye
The last twoweeks had been perfect, and not just because I had gotten to spend more time with my guys. My time in Portland had been filled with lazy mornings, coffee by the fireplace, game nights that went well past midnight, movie marathons with us sprawled across the couch, and dinners where no one cared what I wore or how I smiled.
I hadn’t needed to beon.
I had just been me, the real version not many people knew.
I had woken up between Jase and Dylan more mornings than not. We’d stolen kisses in the kitchen when no one was looking. A few times, I’d caught one of them watching the other with an expression so soft and full of affection that it made my chest ache.
And their family had been great too.
Chase and Gage had made me feel welcome immediately, while Cammie’s enthusiasm for literally everything had made it impossible not to share in her excitement about all her college firsts. There had been dinners that turned into light-hearteddebates, laughter that carried through the house, and no one had treated me like a celebrity or a pawn.
I’d been a girlfriend and treated like a part of the family.
That was what made leaving hard.
Now we were in D.C., driving through the gates of the White House as my regimented life snapped back into place. My calendar was already full of appearances, fittings, charity events, and donor dinners. In two days, Jase and Dylan would head to San Diego to spend time with their mom before flying to Florida for spring training.
Our little bubble was about to burst.
And I wasn’t ready.
