Page 261 of Rogue Riders Duet

I lay there, pinned between them, with flowers on my wrist and dirt on my skin, and my heart stretched impossibly full.

Yeah. Best fucking day of my life.

SIXTEEN

The Kaiserschmarrn is warm and sweet, fluffy like clouds soaked in vanilla, and somehow, Piper managed to make it in a frying pan that is older than most of us.

I sit at the table with her on one side and Mason on the other, chewing slowly as I rub my neck. There’s a hickey there, one of many.

Luc went feral in the lavender field. When I caught my reflection the next morning, marked collarbone to ribs with purple-red declarations, my only thought was, is he an animal?

The answer is yes, but he’s my animal, and I don’t regret a damn second of it.

I scrape up the last bit of caramelized edge, chasing it across my plate before leaning back with a satisfied sigh. Piper made magic, real magic. Even Mason looks like he’s actually enjoying himself, his face relaxed, shoulders loose, and when I glance over, he’s already smiling at me.

And just like that, butterflies take off in my chest again, flapping straight up into my throat. It’s ridiculous how easy it is for him to make me nervous with just a look, considering he can calm me just as easily with another.

Our lips touched yesterday.

And I know he didn’t want that, it was an accident, or rather, Luc being a menace, but here he is, close enough that I can smell him—pine, cold air, and something that reminds me of moss after rain—and my stupid lips remember the feel of his all too well.

I shift in my seat, pressing my palm over the fading mark on my neck again, but it doesn’t help. My gaze goes to Luc, who is busy charming the life out of Piper.

He’s got one leg kicked out, elbow on the table, grinning like sin as he says, “You should be grateful, you know. It’s just because I like you that I’m letting you put some aside for Otis and Dane. Tough luck when they sleep in.”

Piper rolls her eyes. “If you don’t save at least a little for Jim and Élise, I swear⁠—”

“Fine, fine.” Luc pulls his hands up like he’s surrendering. “You guilted me with the parents. That’s cruel.”

I smile faintly, even as something sharp slices through my chest.

Because everyone is here.

Dane. Piper. Otis. Jim. Élise. Luc. Even Mason.

But not Finn.

And I hate how fast the ache takes over. The grief, guilt, and longing all mixed into one unspoken mess because I can’t stop thinking about him either. About how he was there at the hospital, because apparently, Luc made him come in to get tested with us. I only saw him for maybe a split second, but when he looked at me, the look in his eyes wasn’t anger. It was agony.

Is he still hurting from the punch?

Of course he is, Dane broke his fucking nose.

But what if he thought I asked Luc to make him go?

That I didn’t trust him? That I thought he’d…

Fuck. I hate that it bothers me.

It shouldn’t. He was just as reckless as I was. Neither of us were thinking straight. But still, he bothers me.

Always has.

Even now, with Luc being everything I’ve wanted and needed sitting right here, kissing me, biting me, loving me loud.

The test results came in this morning, and everyone is fine, which should be the end of it, but it’s not, because while I’m sitting here full of sugar and warmth, touching the marks Luc left behind, trying not to get high off the way Mason smells, all I can think is, Why does everything with Finn still hurt like this?

A hand comes from my left and tilts my chin toward it. I blink, startled, and look up into Mason’s dark brown eyes. His fingers are warm against my skin, and he’s searching my face like I just said something without speaking. My heart stutters, and the space between us shrinks into nothing.