Page 91 of Zero Chance

“Yeah,” she murmured, looking so demure and…content, compared to the mischievous hellion who used to torment me to no end.“It’s strange how much being in a good, strong, healthy relationship centers you and just…heals your soul.”

“Hmm,” I murmured, deciding not to bash the wholebeing in lovething for the first time in my life.I could be solicitous enough to admit there might possibly be one or two perks to all that falling business.I mean, I wasn’t going to admit it was forme, but for some people…maybe it wasn’t so bad.

“Well,” Hope spoke up, putting her hands on the bed as if preparing to stand.But before she could continue, Alec passed by the door to my room, only to do a double-take and back up enough to grab onto either side of the door frame when he saw who was in here with me.

Leaning in to gape at us, he said, “Um…” His gaze darted between me and his sister suspiciously, his eyebrows lifting to silently question why the two of us were alone together in my bedroom.

Hope rolled her eyes and explained, “Just trying to clear the air between me and him and Parker,” she assured.

“Ah.”Alec nodded, finally understanding.“And?”

She gave him two thumbs-up.“All good again.”

“Aww.”Grinning, her brother stepped fully into the room and threw his arms open wide.“Would you look at that?My two favorite people in the world just made up.Come here,” he demanded, flopping down onto the bed between us and looping an arm around Hope’s shoulders to drag her across the mattress to his side.“Family hug.”

When he turned to me next, I scowled.“Don’t even try it, fucker.”

But Alec ignored the request and leaped at me with a laugh, his overly long, giant arm catching me before I could escape.And the next thing I knew, I was squished into a hug sandwich with him and Hope.

“We…are…family,” he started to sing Sister Sledge.“I got all my sisters with me.”

“Oh, Jesus,” I groaned.“Make it stop.”

Hope threw back her head and laughed, loving it.

Punching Younger lightly in the side, I ducked through his arm and managed to squirm free.All the while, Hope joined in singing, and the two siblings began a mini concert on my bed.

“For the love of God,” I mumbled, glancing toward the ceiling for deliverance.

Laughing again, Hope stopped singing and stood up.“Fine, fine.I’ll go.Probably should get home before Parker realizes I’ve been meddling in his life again.”

“Yeah, I’m sure he’dneverforgive you for that,” Alec returned with a sarcastic scoff because as stupid in love as Parker was with Hope these days, he’d forgive her for anything.

Grinning, Hope winked back.“Idoseem to have a special talent for getting out of whatever trouble I get into with him, don’t I?I mean, usually, all I gotta do is?—”

“No,” Alec begged, plugging his ears with his fingers.“Nah-nah-nah-nah.I don’t want to know.Not listening.Nah-nah-nah-nah.”

She rolled her eyes and glanced my way.“Thanks again, Duggie.”And waving her fingers at the two of us, she called, “Good luck finding that girl,” as she strolled from the room.

Alec jerked his fingers from his ears.“Ooh!Speaking of Mystery Girl,” he said, turning to me, his interest already diverted from whatever private things his sister might do with one of our best friends.“I’ve got a new idea of how we might locate her.”

I narrowed my eyes.“Is this going to be another instance where you help me one hundred percent of the way with scheming and executing the plan, only to immediately distance yourself from it and throw me under the bus as the only person involved as soon as everyone else calls it dumb?”

Nodding, my best friend openly admitted, “Yeah, probably.”

I squinted at him for half a second before shrugging.“Fair enough.I’m in.”

21

KEENE

Younger and I were finishing up our new plan the next morning at the kitchen table—him actually working and me doodling on a corner of the paper we’d written our specs on as I waited.

“And… I’ve got it,” Alec announced, clicking a button on his computer to reveal the AI-generated woman he’d created from what I could remember of Legs.

“Hmm?”I glanced up, distracted and drained from waiting and waiting and waiting while he’d played with the new app he’d just purchased.

Glancing over, he cast my doodle a strange frown.“Cool W,” he said.“You getting into calligraphy or something?”

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