Page 339 of Bad Prince

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CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Stella

The library smells like paper and coffee.

Quiet. Controlled. Predictable.

Everything I usually like.

Except nothing about this moment feels controlled.

I see them the second I look up.

Across the room.

Same table. Same proximity.

Same—touch.

Isa’s fingers rest lightly on Tristan’s forearm, like they belong there. Like they’ve always belonged there. She leans in, saying something low, her lips curving into that soft, sweet smile that doesn’t match the sharpness in her eyes.

And him?

He’s listening.

Letting her.

Not pulling away.

My stomach tightens. Hot. Immediate.

T & T.

A couple?

For a second—just a second—I hesitate.

Text him?

Keep it private?

Safe?

I heard about the drama after I left the training room last week. I’m not innocent in this.

None of us are.

And it’s getting complicated. I don’t want to mess up Tristan’s head right as his season starts and I can’t keep fighting my feelings, stuffing them down—when they keep bubbling back up.

“Damn.”

Kane’s voice lands low behind me, close enough that I feel the heat of him at my back.

“You gonna stand here and watch… or you finally gonna play?”

My jaw tightens. I don’t turn.

“I’m not watching.”

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