Page 109 of When We Break

“Get a room,” Blake says as he walks by.

“Go away,” I reply without looking at my brother. “How are you, Irish?”

“Happy you’re here.”

ChapterTwenty-Five

SKYLA

“I’m happy to see you, too,” Beckett says before kissing me again. “Brooks, I need to talk to you.”

He squeezes me, then lets go and turns to his eldest brother, and I see Brooks’s eyebrow cocked in curiosity.

“Okay, talk,” Brooks says and pops an olive off the charcuterie board into his mouth.

“We should do it privately,” Beck says, and Brooks shakes his head.

“We don’t have secrets,” Brooks replies, not even caring that I’m here, along with Mik, Benji, and Connor. “Just tell me what you have to say.”

“Juliet called me.”

The room goes dead quiet. Bee, who just walked into the room from outside with some fresh eggs, stumbles to a stop.

“Juliet?” Bee asks.

Brooks immediately scowls.

I sidle up to my best mate. “Who’s Juliet?” I whisper.

“Brooks’s ex,” she whispers back.

“She said?—”

“I don’t want to know,” Brooks replies, shaking his head, his face grim.

“Maybe it’s important,” Blake says, but even I can tell by the stubborn look on Brooks’s face that he won’t budge.

“It’s not life-threatening. She just?—”

“No.” Brooks’s voice is hard and firm, and Beck holds his hands up in surrender.

“Okay. Forget I said anything. It smells good in here. What’s for dessert?”

“I made some pies,” Dani says, pointing at the pies she brought. “Peach and huckleberry, because I still had hucks in the freezer from last year, and they needed to get used. But the crusts are gluten-free, so Birdie can have some, too.”

“Yum,” Benji says, winking at Birdie, who bats her eyelashes at him.

This little girl is a flirt. And she has all of us wrapped around her wee finger.

“When is the big performance?” Blake asks, and I glance at where Mik and Benji sit at the nearby breakfast table.

“In about a month,” I reply.

“How does your ankle feel?” Blake asks. “Be honest, Skyla. Don’t just sayfine.”

“I have moments when I feel like it wants to give, but I’ve learned to adjust my stance or the way I land, and so far, it feels good.”

Blake nods. “Are you wearing a brace?”

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