She studies me, then nods like that’s enough for now. “Sit, you’re getting something with sugar.”
“I feel like that’s becoming a theme.”
“It’s a good theme.”
I slide onto the stool next to Finn, and he bumps his knee lightly against mine.
“You’re doing that thing again,” he murmurs.
“What thing?”
“The pretending you’re fine thing.”
“I am fine.”
He looks at me.
I exhale. “I’m… processing.”
“Better.”
Lani sets a drink in front of me that looks like it could fix at least three life problems and possibly a fourth if I commit, and I wrap my hands around it like it’s an anchor.
Then I hear it.
My name.
Not said to me.
Said about me.
“…that’s Aurora, right?”
“…the one staying with the new guys…”
“…all three of them…”
“…I heard…”
My stomach drops, a quiet, sinkingoh nosettling in before I can stop it.
I don’t turn right away, because if I do, I confirm it, and if I confirm it, it becomes real, and then I actually have to decide how I feel about it.
Finn goes still beside me. Zane reappears at the edge of the room, already clocking the shift, and Ryder’s head turns slightly.
He heard it too.
I take a slow sip of my drink and pretend I didn’t hear anything, like I’m just a girl in a bar and not a walking headline in a town that thrives on stories.
“…she seems nice though…”
“…she said cool stuff at the meeting…”
My chest tightens, and suddenly I’m very aware of where I’m standing, who I’m standing with, and what it looks like from the outside.
A tourist.
A motorcycle club.
