Page 138 of From Now On

“Yay! You made it!” Rylan abandons the Jell-O shots halfway through pouring the mixture into the tiny cups, setting the pan on the counter and then shoving her way toward Harlow, who’s appeared in the doorway that leads from the front hall.

“Hey!” Harlow hugs Rylan back, mouthing something at Conor that makes him grin.

Harlow smiles back. Then, she glances at me, and I immediately tense.

She knows about me and Eve. I can just tell.

And then Eve herself appears and steals all of my attention. She stops beside Harlow, looking around the packed kitchen with wide eyes. It doesn’t seem like she knew there was a party, and there’s a spark of hope in my chest when I realize that means she likely came to seeme.

Rylan pulls Eve into a hug. Harlow moves deeper into the kitchen.

“Hey, Hart’s girl,” Brennan greets. He’s leaning against the wall at that end of the kitchen, next to Robby.

Next to me, Conor nods approvingly at the address.

I’m pretty sure Harlow rolls her eyes before saying hi to Jake.

Jake straightens and steps closer to the girls, holding a hand out to Eve. “Hey, I’m Jake. We’ve never met before.” He smirks. “I’d remember.”

My jaw clenches tight as I watch Eve shake Brennan’s hand.

I can feel eyes on me. Conor and Aidan, I’m guessing, but I don’t glance around to confirm.

My fuse is long. I don’t lose my temper.

Eve and Jake are still talking.

There’s enough activity in the kitchen that I can’t hear everything they’re saying. But I hear him offer to get her a drink, followed by Eve’s “I’m okay, thanks” clear as a bell.

Brennan acts all disappointed, flashing her the grin I’ve seen succeed many times before and rattling off some different options in a cajoling tone.

Harlow’s looking at me now too.

And my fusewaslong, because I’m pretty damn close to losing it. He says something else, and it burns down to nothing.

“She saidno, Brennan.”

A beat of total silence follows. My voice was louder—flintier—than I intended, cutting through the conversations in the kitchen and leaving complete quiet in its wake. I don’t say anything else. I don’t soften my tone or cut the tension with a joke.

And I hold Jake’s gaze as he stares at me, eyebrows raised.

Surprisingly, he breaks eye contact before me. I’ve seen Brennan go head-to-head with plenty of guys on the team before, and it’s rare he’s the one to back down first. It’s usually me and Williams pulling them apart to break things up.

“Sorry,” he tells Eve. “I didn’t know you and Morgan were together.”

I don’t correct Jake’s assumption. Neither does Eve. She says something to Brennan I can’t hear, and then starts weaving her way around the people in the kitchen. Toward me.

People are talking again. Most of them are also staring this way. The worst offenders are Harlow, Conor, Rylan, and Aidan, who aren’t even bothering to be surreptitious about it.

“Hey,” she greets, slipping in next to me.

“Hey,” I echo, scanning her expression.

“I didn’t mean to crash your party.”

“You aren’t. I would have invited you if I’d remembered it was happening.” I reach up and rub the back of my neck. “And I meant to text you, when I got home, but there was the party and I accidentally left my phone upstairs and?—”

Eve cuts me off by rising up on her tiptoes and kissing me.

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