Page 169 of Sexting My Best Friend's Brothers
“They’re going to freak out,” she predicts, a shadow of worry returning.
“Maybe,” I shrug. “Ethan will panic about the legal implications for exactly five minutes. Asher will go silent while he re-runs his probability models. But then?”
I kiss her nose.
“Then they’re going to be exactly like me.”
“And how’s that?” she asks softly.
I smile, feeling the terrifying, wonderful truth of it settling in my bones.
“Totally, completely in love with you and whatever comes next.”
She smiles then, a real smile. It doesn’t reach her eyes yet—there’s still fear there—but it’s a start.
“Go take a shower,” I say, helping her down from the counter. I steady her when her legs wobble. “I’m going to make you some toast. And then I’m calling my brothers.”
“Owen?”
“Yeah?”
She touches my cheek. “Thank you for coming. Thank you for not listening to me.”
I turn my face into her palm and kiss it.
“I’ll always come for you, Tessa. That’s the job.”
I watch her walk into the shower, turning on the water.
I walk out into the living room and pull out my phone.
Group Chat: SYSTEM OVERRIDE (Encrypted)
Me: Code Red is over. But we have a new situation.
Me: Get to Tessa’s apartment. Now.
Ethan: Is she okay?
Asher: Define “situation.”
Me: She’s safe. Just get here.
I put the phone down and walk to the kitchen.
I have toast to make. And a family to build.
29
TESSA
Waiting is the worst part.
It’s worse than the nausea roiling in my gut for three days. It’s worse than the dizziness making the floor tilt every time I stand up. It’s worse even than the moment I saw the red code scrolling across Asher’s screens and realized Nebula was trying to kill us.
Waiting for them to walk through that door feels like waiting for an executioner.
I’m sitting on my sofa, knees pulled up to my chest, wrapped in a blanket that smells like Owen. It’s a heavy, knitted thing that usually makes me feel safe, but right now, I’m convulsing beneath it. The air conditioning is set to seventy-two, but my skin feels like ice.
