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"You heading out?"

"That's the plan."

He nodded toward my car. "You coming back anytime soon?"

I adjusted the strap of my purse. "I'm not sure. Depends on my schedule."

His mouth curved into a grin. "Well, my brother's really gonna miss you."

Something uncomfortable tightened in my chest.

"Yeah, I’m gonna miss him, too." I admitted.

Dylan's grin widened. "Are you?"

Before I could answer, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

A very familiar folded piece of paper.

My stomach dropped out from under me.

"Where did you get that?" I could hear the panic bleeding in my voice.

He unfolded it and turned it around to face me. The header, TEMPORARY ROMANTIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT, flashed in neon in front of my face.

I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me. Preferably somewhere with decent Wi-Fi.

"Where. Did. You. Get. That?" I repeated.

"Found it when I was working on some repairs in cabin four."

"That's private."

"Figured that out when I got to section five, Sexual Contact."

I snatched it out of his hand. "You read it?"

"Hard not to. I was hooked by the time I got to public displays of affection, and emotional boundaries was a real page-turner."

"It was a perfectly reasonable agreement." I heard the words coming out of my mouth defending the contract, and I wanted to shut the hell up, but I couldn’t. This was what I did when I felt backed into a corner and challenged. Never retreat. Never surrender. I will die on a hill I never wanted to climb maintaining it is a lovely view.

"Sure."

"It established clear expectations."

"Uh-huh."

"And, as you just mentioned, boundaries."

"Of course."

I drew my shoulders back, my chin rising in quiet defiance, burying the humiliation I felt beneath a carefully composed exterior. "Are you done?"

"Almost." His expression shifted, the teasing fading. "Look, I don't know what the contract means to you."

I opened my mouth. He held up a hand.

"And I'm not asking. But I know my brother."