Page 163 of Chasing Hope

Irving winces, blocking the apartment with his wide shoulders. Blinking up at him, I play the wounded card, grabbing my chest. “Irving, surely you wouldn’t leave me out here all alone, would you? That’s not like you to hurt a girl’s feelings.”

His face falls.

“Irving, don’t fucking listen to her!” my brother calls out again from somewhere inside the apartment.

But Irving keeps looking at me, his blond hair dripping with water, all but melting as I keep blinking at him furiously.

“Please,” I whisper. “They can’t keep hurting each other.”

“Fuck, little E, way to pull on a man’s heartstrings.” Irving steps back, opening the door farther as he turns to face the apartment. “Sorry, bro, I can’t say no. She’s too pretty.”

My brother groans as I step through, patting Irving’s chest on my way. “Good boy.”

He barks in my ear as a joke, making me chuckle until I spot my brother glaring daggers at me.

Arching a brow, I fold my arms across my chest; he does the same. Irving steps between us, looking like he’s in pain as he runs a hand through his hair. “I’m going to go be…anywhere but here.”

He heads down the hall, but I keep my gaze on my brother as I pointedly ask, “Did you break your phone?”

He shakes his head. “The decline button is working perfectly fine.”

“Dick.”

“Backstabbing sister.”

“How have I backstabbed you?”

His mouth drops open. “You’re dating my best friend!”

“And?”

Snapping his mouth shut, he rubs his jaw, his teeth grinding so hard I can hear it from across the room.

My shoulders droop as all the air escapes me.

Slowly making my way over, I take a seat in front of Caleb on the coffee table, silently praying there’s no sticky substances. He turns his head, not meeting my eye as he fixes his gaze at something in the kitchen.

I wish that I could reach out and touch him, but instead I clasp my hand in my lap to stop myself. “Caleb, we weren’t hiding anything behind your back,” I whisper.

He snaps back in my direction. “I literally saw him pinning you to the elevator wall. Stop lying.”

My cheeks heat. “That was our first kiss.”

“Didn’t look like a first kiss.”

“And how would you know that?” I try and tease.

“I’m surrounded by horny hockey players, I see a lot of making out.”

Touché.

“I promise, Caleb, that was the first time we kissed. It was just…a big lead-up.”

“Exactly,” he says pointedly. “I didn’t evenknowthere was a lead-up.”

“Why would you have? I didn’t want you to know. I didn’t wantanyoneto know. I never thought it would happen, so why would I go out of my way to embarrass myself? Why would I tell you I like someone when I thought it would never be reciprocated?”

“First of all, anyone who has eyes knows Matteo has always liked you. I even knew, I just didn’t thinkyoureciprocated it, or that you were that good at keeping secrets from me.”