Page 68 of Sorrow

Boo raises his eyebrows at me from his spot on the recliner. The judgment is clear, I’m just not sure why — Hayes and I are keeping a respectable distance. There’s an entire sectional cushion between us.

“What?” I ask, a little exasperated. “We’re not doing anything wrong.”

“Oh, I know. You’re not doing anything right, either.”

Hayes’ eyes flick to mine a second before he thinks of some kind of excuse. “Uh... that’s because we’re fighting. She got mad at me for eating her chips. Tell her to stop being a drama queen and get over here.”

He raises an eyebrow at me challengingly, like we’re notactuallyfighting now.

“Drama queen?” I ask. “Are you sure that’s what I am?” Turning just enough that Boo can’t see my hand, I ghost my fingers over the fading cut he left above my breast. Idon’t think I’m the dramatic one in this fake relationship.

The way he sucks in a breath proves my point. “Come here.”

Ugh. I really am annoyed that’s what he went with, but I scoot closer to him anyway. Not close enough to touch, but... you know. Closer.

He huffs, reaching over to pull me in with ease and wrap his arm around me. “Forgive me, Hurricane.”

The butterflies in my chest can go to hell.

“Maybe.”

“I’ll take it.” He leans his face against my hair and inhales, convincing more than my brother that this is real. I wish he wouldn’t do that.

“Tone it down now, bro. I wasn’t commenting on it because I wanted a show. It’s just weird.”

“There’s nothing weird about it. It’d be more weird if we never fucked, right? All that... tension.”

I can hear the grin in his words as my brother audibly shudders. “If that’s what you want to call it, sure. Just watch the damn movie.”

Easy for him to say. I’m laser-focused on the man holding me, the monster runninghis fingertips over my bare shoulder. Sex isn’t involved this time. Beyond putting on a show, he has no reason to be so... tender.

“Maybe I always have.”

Or maybe he does.

What am I going to do if he’s falling for me?

Something happens on screen that makes my brother chuckle, but when Hayes gives no reaction, I know I’ve got all of his attention too. He continues touching my skin adoringly, softly. Such a stark contrast to what we did a couple of nights ago.

The dichotomy makes my stomach hurt. He’s proving he’s not the man I thought he was, and yet... when I picture myself falling for him and him moving on, all I feel is sorrow.

I think I accidentally let him under my skin when he cut it open.

He’s nestling in there and sprouting roots at a rate I can’t control, and I know if I don’t find a way to slow this down, he’s going to completely consume me.

Fuck, I need air.

Carefully but maybe a little too quickly, I stand up and speed walk toward the bathroom. I just need a second.

Hayes, however, has other plans. The door opens before I can even breathe, and he moves his giant body inside to trap me there. “You ran.”

“I had to pee,” I lie. “Can you go now?”

“No.” Again, that challenging look appears. “Go on.”

Son of a bitch. “I have a nervous bladder. I can’t pee with people around.”

“You wouldn’t be lying to me... would you, Hurricane?”

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