Page 65 of Our Ruined Beginnings

When his eyes finally find mine, he winks, and I barely contain the shiver that threatens to take over me. My own eyes narrow, which only sends a smirk to his lips.

He looks over to Nate for a second, assessing him as seriously as he did me, before he beckons me over with a nod of his head.

What I want to do is scamper right over and settle myself in his lap. As much as I bristle at the way he’s attempting to summon me like a dog, I can’t deny that it does something to me, knowing he’d pet meso fucking goodif given the chance.

But I stand my ground, playing the game.

This is what we do—Madden and me. We wind each other up, push buttons that we know we shouldn’t, but still, we’re unable to stop.

After a long moment, I finally turn away, refusing to give him the win despite the fact that all I want is to keep staring. To hold those eyes I know as well as my own; to run my gaze over his hard muscles and strong jaw. To drink him in until all I can taste is him.

Instead, I take a large gulp of my drink, grab Nate’s hand, and drag him away from the kitchen and further into the bustling house, toward the source of the heavy pop music that bounces through the walls.

“Let’s dance.”

Madden

“That better be Sylvie you’re eye-fucking, bro.”

Harper disappears into the crowd, taking her date with her, but while my brother digs his elbow into my ribs, trying to grab my attention, I can barely look away from the path she’s weaving.

It’s only when she’s no longer in my line of sight that I notice Sylvie standing there, her hand moving awkwardly through the air as she waves. Oops.

“Yeah. Of course, man,” I drawl, not convincing either of us.

Caleb grumbles something under his breath, but I ignore him. I’ve never been inappropriate with Harper, so he’s got nothing to fucking whine about. At least, in real life, anyway. My dreams, on the other hand? In my dreams, we’re getting up to all kinds of kinky shit on the nightly.

Evan scoffs beside me, his lips turning down when I turn to look at him. “She didn’t seem all that keen on you wolf-whistling at her like a dog.”

“You need to lighten up, Ev.” So does Caleb, for that matter.

They’re always so worried about her and our interactions, as if she’s a child that can’t decide for herself what she wants. Harper doesn’t take any shit—something Caleb and I have drilled into her since we were just kids.

She doesn’t need anyone to fight her battles for her, and especially not when it comes to me. This is the way it’s always been. She pushes, and I push back harder. Like tonight. She makes a show of having a date for her big night of celebrating, and I make a show of publicly claiming her. Proving to her, and everyone else, who she really belongs to … even if no one wants to admit that out loud.

“She’ll call me out on my shit later, I’m sure.” I shrug casually, secretly looking forward to it. I’m trying to be chill and not run through the crowd after Harper. Though the longer I wait her out, the more time he has to put his hands on her, and that makes my feet itch to get up and follow her wherever she wants to go.

“Hey, Sylvie,” Evan says brightly, surprising me. I didn’t even notice her coming over to us. “Madden was wondering where you’d got to.” I catch my frown just in time, smiling to her politely instead. I’m nothing if not a decent guy, but I want to throat punch Evan. “Come join us for a drink.”

She moves to sit way too close to me, so I straighten up on the daybed, deepening the space between us. My eyes narrow on Evan, a scowl setting on my lips as I wonder what the fuck he’s playing at.

He grimaces, easily reading my expression—perks of being friends for so many years—but tips his head in Caleb’s direction, answering my silent question.

He’s always doing shit like this—trying to keep the peace between Caleb and me. We both have pretty short tempers and clash often, especially where Harper is concerned, but we’re brothers. We’ll always sort our shit out quickly.

Caleb would wrap Harper in bubble wrap if he could, coddle her forever. Me, on the other hand… I want to break through her sometimes hard exterior and stoke the fire that lives beneath her skin. It’s always been that way. For as long as I can remember, the three of us have been together. Evan came a little later, slotting into our group back in middle school, and since then, he’s taken it upon himself to play mediator when he feels it’s needed.

“Oh, I don’t have a drink,” Sylvie says, pulling me back to the conversation at hand. She stares up at me, her eyes doing that stupid puppy-dog shit I hate. There’s no way she’s thinking I’m into that—what guy would be? But I swallow my sigh and go through the motions. It’ll keep Caleb happy, at least, if he thinks I’m focusing on someone else.

“I’ll grab you one,” I offer, pushing off the daybed.

Before I can make it even a few steps, though, she jumps up too, sidling up beside me. “Great, I’ll come with you.” Linking her arm through mine, she drags me around the pool with unexpected strength.

When we walk through the double doors, I find Harper in an instant, like there’s an invisible tether guiding me to her.

She’s standing off to the side, the makeshift dance floor between us. Her friends take up the space around her, hanging onto her every word as she tells some elaborate story, her hands flying animatedly.

Nate, herdatefor the night, stands awkwardly beside her, too close for my liking, but far enough away it’s clear to see there’s nothing between them. He tries to shuffle closer, his hand brushing hers, but he quickly steps back when Harper’s elbow flies outward as she continues her tale, knocking the cup in his hand until liquid splashes over the rim. It’s painfully awkward to watch. A better guy might feel sorry for the sap, but I never claimed to be better. The only thing I feel at the sight is jovial.

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