Page 59 of Stay in Your Lane!

I shivered. I also didn’t have any better ideas.

Everett stepped closer. “I really have to go. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“I’ll be fine.” I put a hand on his waist and kissed him lightly. “Text me when you’re done. Maybe we can meet up at Waffles? or something later.”

Everett smiled as if that he thought that was a great plan.

My brother wrinkled his nose. “Jesus Christ. You two eat at that place?”

Everett turned an innocent look on him. “Well, if we do anything else there, you’ll get called out to arrest us for public indecency.”

I barked a laugh, both at the comment and the annoyance on Colin’s face.

Everett winked. He kissed me once more, then headed out. A moment later, tires squealed, and there was a cringe-inducingthunkthat made me think either he’d gone off the curb or had taken out my mailbox. I was afraid to check.

Colin peered at the door, then shook his head and chuckled. We moved into the living room, and I got us both some coffee while he settled on my sofa. When I came back, I sat in the recliner. Getting comfortable took some work, but I managed.

Colin arched an eyebrow. “Sore?”

I indulged in a pathetic sigh. “A bit, yeah.”

Concern sketched across his face. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” I waved a hand. “Just… bruised. A lot.”

He grunted unhappily but didn’t push.

As silence hung between us, I rewound the conversation we’d all had in the foyer, and I cocked my head. “Hold up. How did you know Everett and I were dating?”

“Besides the part where you had your hand on his back and then he kissed you before he left?”

“You called him my boyfriend before that.”

Colin shrugged unrepentantly. “You left him alone around your fish with the tank open.”

“So? That doesn’t mean…” But I trailed off, because he had a point. I didn’t let just anyone feed my fish or clean their tank, and the only time I ever opened the top was to do one of those two things. And there was atinylist of people I’d leave alone with the aquarium when its lid was open. My parents. Mybrother. My sister-in-law (though she was terrified of them, so that was a moot point). And… my last two boyfriends before they’d become exes.

Colin chuckled. “That’s what I thought.”

I rolled my eyes. “Okay, but it isn’t like I just let my boyfriends mess with my fish from day one. It took me three months to even let Ben help me scoop out the food after feeding time.”

“Uh-huh. But you’ve known Everett for like a week, and you’re already leaving him alone with them.” He smirked. “Kinda screams ‘boyfriend’ to me.”

I wanted to insist I hadn’t had a choice because Colin had arrived while the tank was open. And that I hadn’t really had time to close it all up before coming to answer the door.

Except he knew as much as anyone that I would absolutely leave him or even one of my parents standing on the doorstep for a few minutes while I secured the fish.

But today…

I stared at my wringing hands. I couldn’t even tell myself it was because I urgently needed to talk to my brother. Leaving Everett alone with the fish had been a no-brainer. All the things I worried about someone doing—leaving the tank open so a fish might accidentally jump out or cat might fall in, overfeeding the fish, harassing or teasing them—I couldn’t fathom Everett even dreaming of doing. He might not have been the most graceful person in the world, and his train of thought could jump three or four tracks in the space of a few sentences, but he was sweet and thoughtful, and he was so cautious and gentle with animals.

What could I say? My brother had me dead to rights.

True to his word, Colin got to work. He messed around on his phone for a while, tapping the screen and muttering to himself. Then he paced my living room while he talked to someone in hushed tones, slipping out into the hallway or thekitchen whenever he wanted to give more than monosyllabic answers. I had no idea if he was making any progress, but he looked stressed. Hopefully that meant he was getting close to something, not that he was hitting roadblocks or getting threatened.

About an hour after Everett left, my phone chirped to life with his ringtone. A mix of dread and elation vied for dominance in my chest. I was thrilled to hear from him, but also worried he had bad news.

I accepted the call. “Hey, what’s?—”

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