Total pages in book: 186
Estimated words: 176552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 883(@200wpm)___ 706(@250wpm)___ 589(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 176552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 883(@200wpm)___ 706(@250wpm)___ 589(@300wpm)
Ryder’s grin softened into something gentler. He lifted his hands to cradle my face, thumbs brushing along my cheeks. “No more,” he promised.
From the corner of my eye, movement caught my attention. I glanced toward the house just in time to catch the living room curtain shift, my friends’ faces crammed together behind the glass. The second they realized I saw them, they scattered, laughing like the feral children they were.
I sighed, gently pulling away from Ryder’s hold. “I need to go deal with my circus.”
“You better text me.” It wasn’t a demand, but a gentle command.
“You know I will.”
He caught my hand, stopping me mid-step. “As soon as you’re inside.”
I laughed. “Ryder, it’s six steps.”
“Exactly. And I need a text the second the door shuts so I know I was the first thing on your mind.”
“You’re so cheesy it’s borderline criminal,” I teased, smiling at him.
He lifted my hand to his mouth, brushing a kiss to the center of my palm. “I know this hurt more than you let on earlier,” he murmured. “And I heard every word you said in the truck. Now that you’ve had your say, it’s my turn.”
I should’ve known that would be coming.
Ryder was never going to let me speak so freely without coming back with a response, especially when he’d been holding something back for days, possibly weeks, maybe. I nodded, too full of everything to trust my voice. The look in his eyes told me exactly what I needed to know: Whatever he was going to say to me when the time came, I wasn’t walking away from it unscathed.
CHAPTER NINE
SANJANA
I tested the front door and found it was unlocked. Again. I’d told them repeatedly to stop doing that. Just because our part of Hemlock Heights was upscale didn’t mean we should leave our home wide open like it was a damn Bed & Breakfast. I shut the door with a click behind me, the familiar creak of the hinges echoing softly through the small entryway. A fall-scented candle flickered on the wall shelf meant for keys and mail, probably lit by Ari earlier.
A few paces in, the house opened up in every direction. To the right, our living room glowed in the warm spill of fairy lights tucked along the edge of the ceiling and around the sliding glass doors that overlooked a small patio. Throw blankets in burnt orange and deep maroon were draped over the sectional, and our neon pink heart lamp bled into the space.
To the left was our kitchen, the under-cabinet lights casting faint shadows across the marble-patterned counters. A drying rack full of mismatched mugs sat near the sink. Beyond the island, our small dining nook was cluttered with textbooks and someone’s abandoned hoodie. Straight ahead, past the kitchen and the narrow hall leading to the guest bath, the staircase curved upward where we each had our own bedroom. The basement door was cracked slightly, and I could hear the washer going. The garage entrance was to the left of that and shut tight. I bet it was locked too, unlike the main entry point of our home.
The house could’ve fit inside my parents’ place twice over, and inside Roxxi’s estate at least double that, but I didn’t care.
I liked its coziness and the fact that it was owned by an elderly couple who rented it out to us so they could travel the world, trusting us here while they fulfilled their bucket list of dreams.
I turned the corner and came to a stop.
All four of them were sprawled across the living room in various positions, eyes glued to the TV like they were watching the season finale of a series they had waited years for. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t even a show; it was a YouTube ad. For bodywash.
“You guys can’t be serious right now.”
Arianna turned her head toward me, her expression so wide-eyed and innocent it almost worked. Almost. “What? We’re just enjoying some quality entertainment.”
“Yeah,” Roxxi chimed in, completely deadpan. “Riveting stuff. Really speaks to the soul.”
Cloe laughed and launched a pillow at her. It smacked Roxxi square in the face, and all of them dissolved into laughter. Seeing Layla in a better mood than earlier made me glad I’d volunteered to retrieve what she needed. Roxxi placed the pillow back on the couch and then draped herself halfway over the back, her shorts riding up enough to flash a hint of ass cheek that she made zero effort to fix.
“So… how was the date?”
I rolled my eyes, trying and failing not to smile. “It wasn’t a date. He just gave me a ride.”
Cloe smirked. “I bet he did.”
“Stop,” I warned, laughing despite myself.
Ari, perched neatly on the far end of the sectional with her legs tucked under her like a princess, tried to keep a straight face. Her lips twitched, betraying her.