Page 130 of Make Me Dream of You

She shakes her head.

“What?” Noah shouts. “No, we’re not hooking up. I’m in love with Livvy.”

“WHAT?” Now it’s Bex’s turn to shout.

Jake and Spencer are up, in each other’s face at the other end of the table. Staff is starting to circle us with concerned looks.

Wood asks one of them if he can have another mojito.

“Wait,” I say quietly. “You two were never sleeping together?”

“Fuck no! Why would you ever think that?” The pleading in Noah’s voice rips a new hole in me.

“Bex told us you were.”

Everyone’s eyes turn to Bex, except for Jake and Spencer, their voices getting louder and getting more and more stares from staff. A manager comes by and asks if everything is all right. We all smile and nod. Even Spencer gives a tight-lipped smile as he and Jake nod.

After he leaves, Noah turns on Bex, a dark shadow passing over his expression, his chest heaving even as his words come out steady.

“What the fuck is this, Bex?”

“Yeah,” Macy chimes in. “Why would you tell us you’ve been sleeping with Noah if it’s a lie?”

Bex’s cheeks darken. “We didn’t want Spencer to find out about us yet, and I was stressed about the whole pregnancy scare thing and Noah’s name was the first one that popped into my head. I didn’t think it was a big deal. He’s my ex, and exes sometimes hook back up, and I didn’t think he was with anyone at the time—” Her eyes widen like what Noah said just dawned on her. “Oh my god, Livvy, is that why you’ve been so sad and crying all the time?”

I haven’t moved, haven’t breathed in what feels like minutes. My limbs feel like concrete.

“Fuck! I’m so sorry!” Bex gets up and starts to round the table toward me, but Noah grabs her elbow, stopping her instantly.

“No.” The word comes out like a snarl, his eyes almost black. “I’m going to have a word with you later, but right now—” He makes hard eye contact with me. “Right now, Livvy and I are going to go talk. Alone.”

CHAPTER 24

NOAH

Ican’t even see two feet in front of me, only red. My mind is swirling and I’m vibrating so much I want to crawl out of my skin. I’ve never wanted to wring someone’s neck, but Bex might find I’m a new person.

Later.

Livvy first.

She winds down the dark hall and back into the same bathroom as earlier. I follow her, shut the door, and turn the lock. I have to unravel my fists to do it, they ache from being clenched so tight, my palms dented with marks from my fingernails.

My vision is still blurred, darkness creeping in on the edges, heart rate elevated, blood pumping full of adrenaline and ready for a fight.

But as soon as I turn around and see Livvy standing there, tears running down her face, it clears. Everything else melts away. She’s the only thing that matters right now.

“I’m so sorry,” she says, letting out a sob.

“Angel.” I wrap my arms around her instantly and she reaches up around my neck without hesitation.

I scoop her up and set her on the counter and hold her tighter, basking in her warmth, the scent of her hair as I bury my face in it. She nuzzles into my chest and I’m never taking this feeling for granted again. This is where I belong. This is where she belongs. With me.

The front of my shirt is wet, but her sobs have subsided to hiccups.

After a few minutes, it’s quiet again.

Her face is still smashed against me when she says, muffled, “So, you haven’t been sleeping with my sister?”

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