Page 56 of We Are the Stars

“I’m glad you have them.”

“Me too.”

“How in the hell do you three afford it though?”

Carsen chuckles at my not-so-subtle inquiry. “This was Ma’s house. She left it to me in her will.”

“Paid for? In full?”

“You do realize the bastard is William Wheatley, right? Big business mogul? Loaded? A complete fucking monster?” Heat laces through his words.

I place my hand over his and he instantly flips it so he can thread our fingers together. He leans into me, resting his forehead on my shoulder, needing a moment. I give it to him.

“It’s pretty awesome you have your own house,” I finally say. “I’m guessing Faith picked Wakefield because she loved it here so much?”

He pulls himself back up. “Yep. We had a penthouse in Boston, but she wanted to have someplace quiet to go. She spent a lot of time here.Henever did though. This was her safe place, so it became mine.”

“I like that he hasn’t tainted it.”

Carsen’s gray eyes turn soft. “That’s my favorite part.”

I lean forward and give him a gentle kiss. He sighs when I pull away and puts his forehead to mine, then leans back in for another kiss. And another. And another.

My heart is beating wildly, and I have no idea why I initiated another kiss between us. I have no idea why it feels so good either, why we’re acting like we haven’t barely talked since making out in my bedroom.

“This is so weird. Are we going to pretend you didn’t have me horizontal a few weeks ago and then ignore me?”

I can hear him swallow; it seems louder when I have my eyes closed. “No. I’ve just been too nervous to talk to you. Too…everything.”

“You have? Why?”

“Because—”

“How are the pizzas coming along?”

Unlike in the bowling alley, we don’t jump apart when the boys come strolling back into the kitchen. Carsen eases away and I open my eyes, but we continue to hold hands and sit close together.

Nate has a noticeable new hickey on his neck, and he smirks when he sees me notice it. Blake checks on the pizzas and determines we have about five minutes left on them.

“Any special requests with these?”

“Actually, do you have any—” Carsen disentangles himself from me and heads to the fridge. I gasp as he pulls out a bowl of my most favorite thing ever: nacho cheese sauce. “No way! Why? How?”

“I know you put it on everything and was curious about how it would taste on stuff here at home, so I snagged a bowl from Vern’s after my shift yesterday.”

“I was wondering what the hell that was for. I almost threw it out this morning,” Nate says.

“You wouldn’t dare do something so blasphemous!”

“But…on pizza?”

I turn to Blake, the one who dared to make such a silly inquiry. “Yes! It’sheaven.”

“Full disclosure, she orders it with everything. Burgers, grilled cheese, quesadillas, tuna fish sandwiches…everything. Not sure she’s a good judge on its ‘heavenly’ taste.”

Blake pretends to gag. “Tuna? That’s disgusting.”

“He made that up. I’ve never even ordered tuna at Vern’s.”

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