Page 88 of The Roommate Remodel

He tips my chin toward his face. “Whatever it is, you didn’t mess it up. I want your honesty, because that’s what’s going to make this work between us. But right now, the suspense is killing me.”

Roger that. Get to the point.“Remember what happened the other week? After the game?”

“Outside the locker room?” he guesses.

I nod.

Then he says slowly, “You’re having second thoughts about kissing me?”

I shake my head. “No, I thoughtyouwere.”

“Me?” A laugh of disbelief escapes his lips. “Believe me, I havenothad second thoughts about that. Unless you’re counting the hundreds of times I’ve replayed it in my head.” He gives me a mischievous grin as my cheeks heat.

“Then why haven’t you...” My voice drops, afraid of saying what’s really on my mind.

“Kissed you?” he finishes for me.

My eyes drop to the floor, where our toes almost touch. I’m still afraid that I’m not enough for him. That all my baggage somehow makes me unlovable.

He cups my face with his hands and slides his thumb over the hollows of my cheeks. “When you kissed me last week in front of the guys, I didn’t know if you felt pressure from them. I want you to trust me one hundred percent. That’s why I’m waiting to kiss you, so you know it’s notjustphysical attraction. I lost your trust before, and I’m working twice as hard at earning it back. Until you trust me with your heart, I’ll be here waiting for you.”

He says the words softly, and I feel like a tub of ice cream left out of the freezer too long. “My sister was right,” I say, shaking my head in disbelief. “She told me to ask you. I was scared you’d changed your mind.”

His other hand cups the back of my neck as he pulls me toward him. “When it comes to you, I could never change my mind.”

He leans toward me, his lips only a breath away. My pulse leaps, and I know I’m finally going to get my wish.

Footsteps patter down the hall. “Jaz?” It’s Dawson, and he’s outside the pantry closet.

As the door swings open, I pull away from the kiss and spin toward the shelf of cereal, studying it intently.

“We need some cereal, don’t we, Brax?” I smack Brax on his arm, trying to get him to play along.

Dawson glances between us. “Yeah, likethat’sbelievable.” A grin props a corner of his mouth.

“You’re interrupting us,” Brax growls in a tone that is anything but friendly.

“I see that, but Sloan needs you.”

That’s when I notice how quiet the kitchen is. Something isn’t right.

As I hurry down the hall, Vale’s voice rises above the clatter, “Are you sure you shouldn’t lie down?”

I round the corner. Sloan is hunched over the counter, her head flush with the edge.

“I’ll be fine,” she groans. “Just give me a minute.” Her eyes are squeezed shut, her body clenched.

“Sloan, what’s wrong?”

My sister lifts her face and that’s when I panic. Her face is grayish white and her forehead glistens with sweat.

“I’m not...” Her eyes roll back, and my stomach clenches with fear.

“Sloan!” I scream, running toward her, but I’m too late.

She collapses before I can reach her.

TWENTY

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