Page 160 of Scrum Heat

“He texted me at three a.m. and just sent the eggplant emoji and a trophy.”

Frankie laughs. “That feels threatening.”

“It feels right,” Finn says.

Frankie looks between us and smiles, warm and small and completely disarming. “We did it, huh?”

“We did,” I murmur.

“We did,” Finn echoes, softer now. “And you looked so smug filming the whole thing.”

“I was radiant,” she says.

“You were insufferable,” he corrects.

She turns to me. “Was I insufferable?”

I look at her. At the way the sun hits the corner of her smile, the slight flush still high on her cheeks.

“No,” I say. “You were... everything.”

Her smile wobbles just a little, and Finn grins. “Okay, nowI’mthe one crying.”

“Shut up,” I mutter.

“I’m gonna write that on your protein shaker.”

The three of us go quiet again after that; still stretched out on the grass, still warm from the game, still holding onto something we didn’t think we’d ever really have…

And then—like the scene needed closing music—the side gate clicks open.

I stiffen at the sound of footsteps, and Frankie straightens slowly. Finn glances toward the fence, chewing his last strawberry as Theo rounds the corner.

His scent hits first. It’s clean and familiar, but tense.

Without even looking at his face, I justknowsomething’s off.

He doesn’t speak as he comes into sight, but he meets my eyes, and that’s enough.

Everythingshifts.

Frankie straightens slowly, pushing up from the grass. Her voice is soft and careful as she blinks at him.

“What’s going on?”

Theo glances at me, then at Finn, then back at Frankie.

“Can I talk to you?” he says. “Just us, for a sec?”

Her brows pinch. “Yeah. Sure.”

She dusts off her shorts as she stands, brushing grass from her legs. She looks back at me—just a flick of her eyes, a little crease in her brow—and I nod once.

She moves up the yard with him, side-by-side. I watch as Theo holds the back door open for her, lets her pass through first, then follows her inside.

Finn sighs as he leans back on his elbows. “Well, that didn’t feel ominous at all.”

I grunt in agreement as Finn lets the now-empty bowl rest on his chest.

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