Page 58 of Into the Woods

“No.” All three of us shut that idea down.

Rook walked around and sat down on one of two matching armchairs. He sprawled out and scrubbed a hand over his face with a yawn. “It’s safer for you here.”

“You can share my bed,” Bishop offered.

I finished drinking my beer and hurled the empty can at him. He dodged it easily with a laugh.

“It’s safer for you to be nearby,” I told her, ignoring the way she gaped at me in shock. Gritting my teeth, I flashed her a tight smile. “I can sleep on the couch.”

She nibbled on her lower lip. “Are you sure?”

I nodded. “Yeah, of course.” I met her eyes, wishing I could just say fuck it and tell her we were sharing the bed. But she was already skittish, and I wasn’t a complete asshole.

But having her in my space was one step closer to admitting exactly what I knew—we were inevitable.

“Court mentioned that Eric told you about the auction?” Rook spoke up.

Becca looked past me. “Yeah. I don’t have a ton of details, but maybe it’ll help?”

“Better than what we have now, which is jack shit,” Bishop replied, frowning.

“The auction is happening a week from tomorrow,” she said. “Two days after my grandmother’s birthday celebration.” She blanched, her face going pale as she turned and looked at me. “I can’t miss Mémé’s birthday party, Court.”

I looked at Rook over her head. He shook his head, but I knew what her grandmother meant to her. “We’ll figure it out, Becca.”

“Let me put it another way,” she tried, her eyes hardening, “I’m not missing her birthday.”

“Is Eric invited?” Bishop asked.

She frowned. “Well, yeah. I asked him if he wanted to come before I knew he was a psycho. His brother will be there with Cami, too.”

Bishop switched his attention to me. “How are you selling her absence?”

I leaned against the wall. “She has to return to California to tie up some loose ends with graduation.”

Bishop nodded. “That could work.”

“What could?” Rook looked at Bishop, somehow seeming the most in charge despite being the only one sitting down.

“You two have a past,” Bishop pointed out. “Let’s say Bex goes back to your fancy-ass school, sees you. You two… reconnect. You agree to come out here as her date. With your history, you could sell that you two are together.”

“Except Eric thinks she’s hung up on him,” I pointed out.

“Okay… then you followed her here, but make it clear you finally want to be with her,” Bishop reasoned.

I tipped my head to the side. “And that accomplishes what exactly?”

He held up a finger. “One, it puts you in play. We don’t have to hide you being here.”

“Actually, if we could create enough chatter about there being a divide between you and the guys, our dad might reach out, if he knew you were in Paris,” Rook agreed.

My brows shot up. “Now we’re bringing our dad into this?”

Bishop held up another finger. “Two, not having to hide your presence gives us a lot more flexibility. You can hide in plain sight next to Bex.”

“So, you want to sell that Court decided to give up his friends, his school, and his entire life for me?” Becca let out a belly laugh. “No one would ever believe that.”

Rook and Bishop stared at me, the challenge blatant in their gazes. I shifted my weight from foot to foot and turned toward her, dropping some of the shields I’d always kept up where she was concerned. I’d convinced myself they were necessary to function, but now I was starting to see that by trying to protect us both, I’d only been hurting us.

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