Page 90 of Stolen Hearts

My back molars grind.

“And?”

She shrugs. “And nothing. The man is terrified of commitment.”

I frown. “Yeah, but…hedates, right?”

She snorts. “If he does, it’s in secret. Trust me, I’d have noticed.”

I chew on that for a second, sipping my coffee, feeling…jealous.

Of Neve.

It’s such a stupid thought process, and this isn’t even remotely the first time I’ve felt it around her or Eilish. But I can’t help it. There are just times where I’m flat outjealousof them and what they’ve had with Castle. Obviously, it’s never been anything romantic in the slightest, with them basically being his sisters. But what I’m jealous of is the intimacy they have with him. The easy, casual way they can joke with him, or how he ruffles their hair or hugs them. The history they have with him.

It's ridiculous, and I always feel like an asshole feeling that jealous feeling that I get around them sometimes. But it always come back, like right now.

I steal a glance at her. “Do you know about this Teagan girl?”

She frowns. “Who?”

“Teagan. Or Loraine?”

She shakes her head. “Not ringing any bells.”

I exhale quietly.

“But…” she smiles wryly. “He’s also a very private person.”

“And complicated,” I mumble. She nods as I raise my eyes to hers. I look down into my mug. “I just…want to understand him better.”

Neve glances at me curiously, her brow arching. “Oh?” she says pointedly.

My face heats. “Not like that,” I blurt, laughing nervously.

I don’t know why I’ve always kept —and continue to keep—my feelings for Castle from one of my best friends in the world. Maybe because I’m painfully aware of how pathetic it is for me to be head over heels for a man like him?

Maybe because he’s like a brother to her, and last night he made you come on his tongue?

I swallow the heat from my face, desperately wishing I had my bottle of Ativan right now.

“I just mean, if I’m going to be living with him for a year…you know?”

Neve nods slowly, smiling quietly at me. “I get it.” She shrugs. “Well, okay, what do you want to know?”

I frown, sucking on my teeth. “Does he have any family?”

I’m always intrigued by people from small families, or people without families at all. It’s just such a radically different existence from mine, as one of six siblings.

Neve shakes her head. “I don’t think so. But I’m not sure. Castle’s family was Kildare-affiliated. Not quite a vassal family, but both his parents did work for the organization. The Jameses.”

I frown. “Did you know them?”

“No. Cillian doesn’t have very nice things to say about them, though. All I know is, Castle’s dad and his sister both died before he went into the army.”

“He had a sister?”

She nods. “Yeah.”

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