Page 22 of My Accidental Valentine

“How’s your ass?” he asks suddenly, gentle but teasing.

I blink and pull back to look at him, caught off guard by the question. “I didn’t take you for such a gentleman.”

He laughs, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and the sound makes my chest feel lighter. “I meant after your fall today.”

“Oh. Right.” I wiggle my hips slightly, testing for any real soreness. “It’s fine—I almost forgot about it.”

“Good.” He kisses my hair again, and warmth floods through me at how tender it feels. “Should we get dressed and go downstairs? Pretend we didn’t just…you know?” His grin is pure mischief.

I smirk, tapping a finger against his chest. “Yeah. I think we owe it to Millie and Peter to make an appearance.”

Adam raises an eyebrow as he grabs his boxers from the floor. “We should also let them know they really need to work on their communication.”

I sit up and stretch before reaching for my briefs. “Yeah, seriously.”

Epilogue

We’re having breakfast the next day—all eight of us crammed around the kitchen island, drinking coffee and tearing into croissants with cheese and ham. The smell of freshly brewed espresso and pastry fills the air as everyone chats, laughter mixing with the clatter of cups against saucers.

I’m mid-sip of my coffee when I realize Adam and I are drawing attention. Of course, we haven’t told anyone anything—except for Millie, who cried happy tears when I confessed everything to her last night, and Peter, our wingman extraordinaire. But the rest of the group is still completely in the dark about us.

That is until Adam’s thumb brushes absently over my hand where it rests on the table—a small, easy gesture, but it immediately sends a bloom of arousal through my core. When I glance up, I catch Chara watching us, her eyes widening. Her brows shoot up, her gaze snapping between Adam and me.

Shit.

I pull my hand away quickly, but not quickly enough. Chara’s expression shifts from confusion to dawning realization—and then to that smug, sisterlyohhhhface that makes my stomach twist.

Meanwhile, the others are too caught up in their conversation to notice. Peter’s arguing that DJing is the ultimatemidlife crisis move for men, while Tina lists worse ones, like getting into motorcycles or singing in an amateur rock band.

I lean toward Adam, lowering my voice. “Ease it on the touching, cowboy, or everybody’s going to find out.”

Adam’s mouth curves as he takes a sip of coffee and leans in, his breath warm on my ear. “Do youwantto keep it a secret?”

I blink. “No. Not really. I mean, if you do—”

“Me neither,” he says, and with that, he leans in to kiss the tip of my nose.

That’s when everybody notices, and the room instantly goes quiet.

“Wait—hold up—did you just kiss him?!” Tina blurts, pointing between us with wide eyes.

“Yup,” Chara says, her face perfectly blank, like she’s known for ages and definitely didn’t just figure it out two seconds ago.

“What is happening?” Sean asks, looking genuinely scandalized.

“Oh god,” I mutter, rubbing a hand over my face. “Please calm down.”

“I think they hooked up last night,” Amira says, one brow arched in amusement.

My cheeks heat instantly. “How do you know?”

She shrugs, completely unfazed. “You disappeared for half an hour and came back in different clothes.”

“T.M.I., Amira,” Chara groans, covering her ears with both hands. “T.M.I.!”

“Holy shit,” Tina says, turning to gawk at Adam. “Wait—you’re not straight?”

Adam shakes his head, calm and patient, as if he’s answering nosy questions from a boyfriend’s parents. “Nope. Dated girls in high school, but it was just for appearances.”

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