Page 34 of 10 Rings I Hate About You
“Hey,” I replied.
He slid onto the stool beside me, posture loose and easy as he gave Josh a chin nod. Theo sat on the other side of me while Adam took the spot next to my brother.
Josh pointed at them. “You’re late. I was just about to tell Marc he’s in love.”
Adam’s mouth twitched. “Is he?”
“No,” I said, immediately.
Wyatt glanced at me. Held my gaze and a slow, knowing grin spread across his face—the kind that said more than words ever could. Then he nodded as if he didn’t believe me, but wasn’t going to say it out loud.
Theo sighed. “Don’t tell me this is about Delaney Hart.”
Josh grinned wider. “It’s abso-fucking-lutely about Delaney Hart.”
Adam groaned. “You two have been circling each other for years. Just admit you like each other and put the rest of us out of our misery.”
“We don’t,” I insisted. Why didn’t anyone understand this?
Josh, apparently taking pity on me, shut up and poured us all beers.
Adam smirked in my direction. “I heard you have a new pet.”
I sighed. “It’s temporary.”
Theo glanced away, but not before I saw the guilty expression crossing his face.
“It’s temporary.Right,Theo?” I pressed.
He shrugged, suddenly very interested in his beer.
“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered.
Cool air blasted into the room as the door opened again.
I glanced up automatically. My sister Grace walked in with Penny. Grace’s auburn hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, her hazel-blue eyes bright with laughter as Penny whispered in her ear.
Josh’s entire body changed.
His shoulders straightened. His expression softened at the edges. And his hands stilled on the bar top.
I watched him watch her, and something uncomfortable twisted in my chest.
Because I knew exactly what that was.
The careful attention. The quiet longing. The way someone could rearrange your entire world just by walking into a room.
And I realized with creeping horror that I might’ve worn that same exact expression when I’d caught Delaney mid-fall.
Josh cleared his throat and turned back to us, but the damage was done.
Wyatt caught my eye and raised an eyebrow in a silent question.
I shook my head slightly.
I could barely focus on anything except for the truth settling into my bones. It was an ache I couldn’t shake.
Damn it.
