Page 136 of Sweetheart: Part One

She was a bloody siren, and I couldn’t let my guard down like Drake had. Tonight was officially my night, though, so I’d get her to myself.

Drake had asked me about photos. I didn’t have any—and didn’twantany. That wentdeepinto girlfriend territory, and I didn’t have time for that. But she was hot, so like… it would be nice to have a few pictures… How could I get her to do that for me tonight without sounding desperate?

I didn’t actually need the kind of photos I’d implied to Drake yesterday, though the golden lace and silken nightgown wasn’t something I’d complain about if shedidagree…

To be honest, I’d felt guilty since the second I’d said it. Drake hadn’t shut the bond down quick enough to hide his hurt. I’d just panicked, not wanting him to suspect the true nature of Vex’s visits.

“How can I convince you to give me one of Ebony’s nights, too?” Drake’s voice cut me off as the song ended.

I could almost hear the smile in Vex’s voice as she replied. “You get all my days.”

“I’ll trade—Rook should have days with you, too,” he said. I frowned at that, trying to ignore the flutter in my stomach. “Tell him to take you to the Wax Museum downtown, he literally can’t shut up when he’s in that place. Swear he turns into a kid. You know he’s got family in wax?”

“Lenora Harrison, right?” Vex asked. “His grandmother?”

My chest tightened for a moment. Vex knew about that? Not many people connected me to my grandmother. To the public, we were so different.

“Is it because…?” Drake’s voice pulled me from that thought. “I know we don’t…” His pang of insecurity was so strong I felt it through the bond, the same as it had been yesterday.

There was a pause.

“What?” Vex asked, her voice low, something concerned in it.

“Rook’s always been good with people, and Love…” There was a pause. “You literally sleep into the afternoon after nights with him.”

I frowned at that, taken off guard. I’d clocked Love during those nights, attentive to each of my brothers’ time with Vex. Every night Love spent with her, his side of the bond was deadbolted shut. I didn’t get anything from him.

Were they…?

She slept into theafternoons?

Fuck me…

I didn’t expect that from Love. She was falling for Drake, but now Love was making strides, too?

“Shit…” Her voice dropped, something desperate in it. “No. That’s not why—”

“I mean, I get it if it is,” Drake said quickly. “I’m not mad. I know I don’t move as fast as the others with the physical stuff, and Rook’s a total lady’s man—”

“No.” Her voice was low and more firm than I’d ever heard her.

Shit.

She better not make him feel worse on my account.

“You can tell me if I’m doing anything that—”

“You’re not,” Vex said, almost frantic. “That’s not why.”

I could almost hear the cogs turning in her mind as she tried to come up with a reason. A reason she couldn’t give because I had made that impossible. I chewed on my lip, trying to shove back a rising discomfort.

“You’re not doing anything wrong.” Her voice had dropped, and I almost missed the words. “I love every minute I spend with you, Drake.”

I wasn’t expecting sadness as I heard her honesty. It was something sad, and… jealous.

I buried it.

Her affection wasn’t the goal—it never had been.

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