Page 153 of Only in Your Dreams

God, how can this go from bad to worse?

“Holy shit.” Brooks rounds Parker to stand at Zac’s side, watching Connor wipe the fresh cut on his lip. “Did you just throw down?”

“Get him out of here before I do it again,” Zac answers. Connor throws Zac a mutinous look but doesn’t spare me a glance.

“Who is he?” Brooks asks.

Parker appears at my side, his face completely unreadable as he moves his gaze from Zac to Connor. “Mel’s ex.”

Brooks grimaces as Connor rises, steadying himself on the wall he’d just been pinned against. “You’ll be hearing from my lawyer—”

I snort. “No, we won’t. That would require you to admit you let some guy knock the snot out of you.”

“Get him out of here,” Zac says again, eyes still glued to Connor.

Brooks takes Connor by the upper arm, and the entire thing must have really done a number on him because Connor doesn’t even protest. “Come on, big guy. What do you say we help get you on your way, huh?” He digs into Connor’s jacket pocket. “Found his keys. Sum, you’ll follow us in my car? I’ll ride with him a while, make sure he ends up in the right place.”

“I’ve always wanted to be a getaway driver,” Summer says, catching Brooks’s own keys.

God, I love my friends.

As they escort him away, Parker pats Connor on the back far harder than necessary. “I told you I wasn’t the scary one, asshole.”

The second they all disappear from the alley, Parker turns, looking back and forth between me and Zac.

“So. Shall we head inside?”

Chapter 39

Melody

We eye each other in the living room, listening to the sounds of Parker rummaging in his bedroom. He headed straight there once we got upstairs. And I don’t know about Zac, but I’m feeling a lot like a kid who’s just been ushered into the principal’s office, waiting for the hammer to drop.

I take Zac’s punching hand, running a thumb over his knuckles. The skin isn’t broken, but it’s red and angry-looking and he’ll wake up with bruises tomorrow.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know.”

Zac takes my chin between his fingers. “Yeah, I did. No one talks to you like that. Ever.”

“You don’t fight.”

“I’d burn everything to the ground for you, and walk away without another look.” He thumbs my chin when I chuckle. “What’s funny?”

“You know, I love it when you smile at me. I love it when you leave lip balm everywhere you think I’ll need it. But Ireallylove it when you lose your mind over me. You’re just so good at it.”

“That’s because I’ve been doing it all my life, Clo.” I turn my head, kissing the inside of his wrist over the red shoelace. “You really held your own out there. I was so proud of you.”

I huff out a laugh. “YourI’m proud of youface looks a lot like yourI’m about to dismember someoneface.”

“Since when do you have anI’m about to dismember someoneface?”

Zac stiffens. Parker leans his hip against the kitchen island, dressed down out of his work clothes. I don’t know whether it’s a force of habit, but we simultaneously move away from each other on the couch.

Parker blinks. “I’m sorry—are we still doing that thing where we pretend you two aren’t sneaking around?”

My stomach drops. Parker snorts at whatever he sees in my face.

You have got to be kidding me.

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