Page 110 of Blood and Buttercups

“You forgot to cook that,” I say.

“Steak is best rare,” Noah answers. “Have you ever watched a cooking competition on TV?”

“No.”

“This is how they prepare it.”

“Suit yourself.”

Cassian stands across the counter, frowning at us.

“What?” I ask him.

“Nothing.” He turns away, cleaning up the mess I made while making the smoothie.

Noah eats in silence, brooding. When he’s finished, he rises, rinses his plate and utensils, and then moves them to the dishwasher.

Both men are tidy houseguests.

When Noah can stall no longer, he looks at the clock on the microwave. “I need to get going. Colin lives in New Castle.”

He pauses in front of me, almost like he’s going to kiss me goodbye. I swallow, looking up at him.

“Don’t leave the house, okay?” he says.

“Maybe you should put a tracker on me.”

A smile tugs at his lips, and he leans close, dropping his voice. “Maybe I already did.”

When my eyebrows shoot up, he chuckles. “I sent you a request to join my family group. Check your phone.”

“Oh.”

Family group.

I pull my phone from my back pocket and see another text from Max.

Max: She’s not at work.

“You’re being needy this morning,” I mutter after I read the text.

Piper: Why do you need to get a hold of her so badly?

I close the messaging app and bring up the notifications. Noah uses the same location-sharing app as my grandparents. They added all of us to a family group before they left on theirRV adventure, just in case they go missing and someone needs to track them down.

Noah York has invited you to join his family group. Accept his request?

My heart lurches a little when I read the notification, but I quickly reprimand it.

Don’t get ahead of yourself, Piper.

I click accept, and then there we are—two little circles on a map. Just Noah and me.

I show him my phone screen. “One flaw in your plan—I can keep track of you, too.”

“I’m okay with that,” he says.

“Yeah?” I ask, feeling squishy.

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