Page 83 of Hearts on the Line

He runs a hand through his messy brown hair and bites back a grin. The smug bastard is always grinning. Pro hockey player, living it up with a different girl on his arm every night. He’s the popular and funny one of us Murphy kids.

“Sloane is back.”

“For the summer.” I hate how quickly I put that out there. Like dropping a line I don’t plan to haul back in.

“And she’s staying with you?”

“Her car broke down.”

Tony shuffles back from the bathroom. “He fixed it for her. In secret.”

That damn grin breaks out into a full smile.

“Don’t fucking start, kid,” I say, pointing my finger at his face.

He tilts his head, dimples on full display. “You ready for what happens when she leaves again?”

The question hits me like a punch to the gut. “She’s not⁠—”

“She’s not staying, Ethan. You know that, right? What happens when summer’s done, and she heads back to real life? Jesus, you haven’t changed…”

This is real. Everything about us is real.

“It’s fine.” I can guard my heart all I want, but it won’t make a difference because Jack can see through my bullshit too.

“You haven’t changed much.”

“Who’s changed?” Sloane asks, walking back in with a handful of empty bottles of malt vinegar and ketchup.

“Ethan is the same as ever,” Jack says, but his eyes are still on me, waiting for an answer I don’t have.

Oh, she mouths. I rush over to help as the bottles start slipping out of her hands. She’s a little flustered, glancing between me and Jack.

“Jesus,” Jack laughs. “Get a room, you two. Oh, wait, you have a whole apartment upstairs!” He heads outside, but not before shooting me one last knowing look.

“I sleep on the couch,” Sloane shouts back at Jack.

“A couch never stopped me,” he yells back.

“Asshole,” she mutters.

It’s just the two of us now, and everything feels like it’s falling apart. Except for her. With Sloane, I’m perfect. Everything else can go to hell.

“As long as you’re in this town, you’re in my bed,” I say, voice low, and sure, a touch possessive.

She winks at me before disappearing upstairs.

Chapter 27

Sloane

Ishould have said no to dinner.

There’s been a strange undercurrent between Ethan and Jack since this afternoon.

I’m in the bathroom when I hear the storm door bang shut. The metal frame rattles, and it sounds like how I feel, still shaken up from when Ethan pulled me inside the outdoor shower and kissed me to within an inch of my life before Jack arrived.

I haven’t been able to think straight since, and now we’re back to pretending everything is normal while getting ready to have dinner with Bridget.