Page 306 of The Romance Adventure

“What do you know about relationships?” Royal asks CJ.

“I know plenty,” CJ says.

“Do you want to talk about it, brother?” Magnus asks.

Not really, but I have a feeling no one will be leaving this room until I do. “She broke it off with me.”

“As predicted.” Royal grunts.

“Harley and I always had this complicated thing. We pretended to hate each other, but would hook up in secret.”

“We know,” all three of my brothers say.

“You do?”

“Of course we do. It was a complex and confusing layer cake of the two of you being friends one day, hating each other at times, and then kissing each other’s faces off the rest of the time,” CJ says. “Then smashing the cake into each other’s faces.”

“Like a pie?” Magnus asks.

CJ shrugs. “Or a wedding cake.”

But we always kissed and made up, in a backward kind of way.

“Gross,” Royal says.

“He’s not wrong,” I manage. “I asked her to help me out after that mess with the assistant coach’s daughter⁠—”

“About that. Next time you’re thinking about making a major life choice that involves us, why don’t we discuss it first?” Royal says.

“How would my marrying Jayda Webster involve you?”

“I’m your twin,” Royal says.

Then the other two add, “Your brothers. We’re family. What you do affects us and vice versa.”

“I asked Harley to marry me.”

“With a doughnut,” Royal says as if it’s ridiculous.

“I could go for a doughnut.” CJ pats his belly.

“Anyway, at first it was fake. A game we were playing. Then it seemed real. Turned out she was breadcrumbing me. Leaving me hints that she wanted more, only to leave me in the dust.”

“Why would she do that?” Magnus asks.

“We’re talking about Harley here. Why wouldn’t she? Just to mess with him,” Royal says.

“But she changed. Or at least I thought she did.”

“Did you want more?” Magnus asks.

“Yeah.” Clips from the last weeks play through my mind like a video montage—our laughter, kissing, adventuring, time with Luke...

“You want more, and that’s a problem because...?” Magnus trails off, leaving room for me to answer.

Royal does instead. “Because she’s stubborn. Sassy. This is Harley we’re talking about, guys. She’s always been trouble and always will be.”

Even though she broke up with me, I rush to her defense and tell them about the offer from the Riptide and her job up in Montgomery wanting her back.