Page 54 of Holding Hope

I meant it. I’d rehearsed it. Colton was my brother—my favorite boy in the world—but that didn’t mean I had to justify every choice he made. If he was sure Delia would be happy, then my feelings didn’t matter.

“I want you both to be happy,” I said. “If this is what it takes, I won’t stand in your way.”

Color returned to his face. Relief. Hope. Maybe I’d made the right call.

“Thank you, Clarke.” He slung an arm over my shoulder. “Now let’s get Ethan away from the door before Arabella sinks her teeth into him.”

I snorted. “She still blames me for his lack of interest.”

Ethan appeared on my other side. “And yet, the entire time you were in New York, nothing happened between us. Whose fault is that? The lesbian thousands of miles away or the evil, conniving bitch who used to put frogs in my lunch?”

“Ethan!” I laughed, smacking his chest. His booming laugh carried over the music, turning heads.

He had that effect—loud, rowdy, magnetic. He and Colton together were chaos incarnate. Bar fights, drunk bareback riding, river-jumping in our underwear. I missed it. Missed feeling young and reckless.

We joined Delia and Avalon at the bar. Delia immediately drifted to Colton’s side. They looked good together—painfully good. The kind of couple you’d see in a movie. The kind that made you stare.

The kind that could hide dark secrets.

“Hey.”

I turned, finding Avalon at my side. That stupid flurry of butterflies in my stomach took flight again, and I forced them back down. I couldn’t go there—not here, not now, not ever.

If we went there again, everything I’d done to get over her would unravel. Once things became physical, they became complicated. Soul-binding. Chaotic. Gruesome. Painful.

“Hi,” I squeaked. Avalon smiled and slid onto the empty barstool beside me. “Are you having fun?”

She nodded eagerly, taking in the room. Rorie’s wasn’t much compared to Brie’s Pit 5° or the sleek bars in the city, but it had its charm.

“I am. Thank you again for inviting me.”

Her smile was warm—genuine—like she was smiling at an old friend. Her storm-colored eyes swept the room before landing on me again, stealing whatever breath I had left.

Whenever she was near, it felt like she vacuumed all the air from the space. But now… now it felt different.

I waited for my lungs to start working again before forcing a smile. “I’m glad. I think this was what we needed.” I glanced toward my brother, Ethan, and Delia. “All of us.”

Avalon leaned forward, elbows on the bar. “What’s the deal with those two anyway? Are they dating or something?”

I followed her gaze. Colton held Delia’s drink just out of reach, grinning as she stretched on her toes. Even in heeled boots, she was several inches shorter. She scowled, then climbed onto her barstool. The stool wobbled—my heart lurched—but before she could fall, Colton grabbed her thigh, steadying her.

There was an exchange between them—silent, wordless, but clear.

Delia’s eyes said, don’t let me fall.

Colton’s said, I won’t. Not unless we fall together.

And then the moment vanished. Delia swung her legs over his shoulders and triumphantly snatched her drink. Colton’s smile was blinding—no annoyance, no tension. He wanted her up there.

He wanted her.

“Yeah… something like that,” I whispered.

Seeing them like this—easy, playful, natural—made me rethink everything. Maybe I’d been wrong. Maybe they were meant for each other. Maybe she was exactly what he needed to finally grow up.

Somewhere beside me, Avalon asked another question—only a few words cut through the noise.

“What did you say?” I turned back to her, focusing on her gray eyes. In the dim orange lighting, they almost matched the haze around us. Her eyes were chameleons—shifting, blending, impossible to pin down.