Page 209 of On the Breakaway

I huff a laugh. “They might disagree after yesterday.”

“They don’t.”

The certainty in her voice settles somewhere deep inside my chest.

The suspension will come, and headlines will be tragic, but Avery’s looking at me as if none of it matters, and I push myself to borrow a little of that perspective.

“You know,” she says thoughtfully, “I actually think we have a much more terrifying situation to deal with.”

Every muscle in my body tenses. “What?”

She blinks innocently. “We have to face our friends.”

I stare at her, exhaling loudly. She bursts into laughter, the sound filling the room.

“They’re going to be a pain in the ass,” I say.

“Unbearable.”

I groan dramatically, throwing my forearm over my eyes. “I can hear Liam already.”

“Oh, he’s going to be unbearable. He’s going to think you’re kidnapping his soulmate."

“I’ve already kidnapped his soulmate.”

She gasps. “Grayson Shaw. Did you finally admit to kidnapping me?”

I snort. “I’ve been kidnapping you for months.”

She laughs harder as I make a face.

I add, “Other than Liam, Nathan will be fine, and Wyatt will pretend he doesn’t care.”

“Wesley’s going to demand a complete timeline.”

“Sloane’s never letting us live this down. She’s been like a dog with a bone since I met her.”

“And Harper’s probably already planned our wedding.”

I peek at her. “A wedding?”

“Don’t you get a single idea.”

I laugh, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want exactly that eventually.

She bites the inside of her cheek. “They’ll be completely insufferable and equally thrilled.”

That makes me smile despite myself.

She watches me for a second before brushing her thumb over the bruise on my jaw again. Finally, I throw the blankets back and swing my legs over the edge of the bed. She immediately wraps both arms around my waist from behind.

“No.”

I laugh. “Chaos.”

“Five more minutes.”

“If I give you five minutes, it’ll become fifty.”