Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
HAZEL
Thirty minutes later, I walked into the chaos of Kiera’s kitchen in a hoodie, damp hair, and a grin I couldn’t get rid of after one of the best nights of my life. The kind of night that left you more exposed than naked, and somehow steadier because of it.
The first thing I noticed when I stepped into Kiera’s kitchen was the scent of bacon, coffee, and—be still my heart—syrup, which always meant something good.
The second was that Kiera looked like a woman who had either committed a crime or was about to.
Sunlight slanted through the big window over the sink, catching steam curling off the stovetop. The tile was cool beneath my bare feet. A rare moment of peace in the general Colburn bedlam.
Kiera yanked open the oven and waved a spatula like a white flag. “Hey, I’m going to warn you—it’s already been a day.”
“It’s eight in the morning.”
The twins barreled into the kitchen, raced around the island, and vanished again.
“They’re fast,” I said.
Kiera held up a finger. “Wait for it—”
Aaaaaand they were back in three seconds.
“They’ve been making laps since five a.m.,” Kiera said. “Do you know what I’d like to do? Not see five a.m. on my clock. Five a.m. should be illegal. What were you doing at five a.m.?”
I was pretty sure she didn’t want to hear your brother, but it was the truth. At 5:00 a.m., I’d been riding Tucker like Zorro on a mission, taking him apart piece by piece just to see him lose his famed control. I’d loved every single second of it.
In fact, 5:00 a.m. just might be my new favorite time of the day.
Ryder popped his head in the back door, and I did my best not to look like I was fantasizing about his baby brother.
He smiled at me and then looked at Kiera. “The heathens ready?”
“You’re late.”
His smile turned into a grin. “Penny had a surprise for me this morning.”
Kiera covered her ears. “Ew!”
“Not that.” But Ryder laughed in a way that told us it had been exactly that. “She made me breakfast in bed.”
“Good for you.” Kiera rolled her eyes and yelled, “Uncle Ryder’s finally here to take you to the zoo!”
The house shook with the stampede of two pint-size elephants squealing in delight as they ran in and headed straight for him.
He caught one under each arm and slung them over his shoulders like twin sacks of potatoes, gripping their ankles like the seasoned uncle he was.
More happy squealing.
“Kisses!” Kiera ordered.
Ryder pivoted so she could press kisses to their giggling foreheads.
“Be good. Don’t ask for presents.” Then she eyed Ryder. “Remember, when they tell you they have to pee, it’s already too late. Run like your life depends on it to the bathroom. Let’s not forget the Home Depot incident.”
He grimaced. “In my defense, I didn’t know Abi had a bladder the size of a pea. And when she soaked my shoes, I didn’t even make you deal with them. Or my dignity. Or my therapy bills.”
“Bring me back a churro,” she said.
Once the Colburn tornadoes cleared out, peace returned.
Kiera poured us mimosas, and I finally got a good look at her. Her hair was tousled, her cheeks flushed. And… “Your tee’s inside out.”
She looked down at herself. “Well, shit.”
I added up the clues and grinned. “You’ve been holding out on me.”
Kiera turned away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Uh-huh.” I crossed my arms. “Spill.”
She dropped a banana into the blender and turned it on.
“Subtle,” I shouted over the roar.
She clicked it off and lifted her chin. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Sure, you don’t. Your mouth says innocence, but your hair and inside-out shirt say, I just got wall banged against the laundry room door.”
Her head snapped toward me, expression horrified, mortified…and maybe a hint of smug. “Shh!”
I grinned. “No one here but us.” I leaned in. “Admit it. You got some.”
Kiera gave me a classic Colburn look that could’ve melted granite.
It made me snort.
She crossed her arms in that intimidating Colburn way. Good, but not Tucker level.
“Dammit,” she muttered. “I always forget how tough you are. You don’t cave.”
“Exactly. So spill.”
But before she could, the back door opened, and in sauntered…
Miguel.
Six feet of sleep-ruffled, postcoital hair, cargo shorts, a faded T-shirt advertising a dive bar in the Maldives, and a grin that didn’t say, I just came over to borrow sugar.
Holding two coffees, he froze mid-step.
I grinned.
Kiera groaned.
Miguel handed Kiera her coffee. Then he smiled at me and offered me the other.
“I’m good, but thank you. You probably need the sustenance.”
The tips of Kiera’s ears flushed pink.
Miguel moved to her and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. “I can go—”
She caught his hand. “Don’t even think about it. The kids are gone for hours. Hours, Miguel.”
His smile deepened as he tipped her face up for a quick, soft kiss. “In that case, I’ll be answering emails in the living room. Take your time.”
We both watched him walk away, but only one of us had her eyes locked on his ass, and it wasn’t me.
The second he was gone, I turned to Kiera with a glee I hadn’t felt in days. “So. You and Miguel.”
Kiera pointed the spatula at me like a weapon. “Not a word.”
“Not even one?”
“Hazel.”
“Okay, five. Five words, but that’s my final offer.” I paused for effect. “I’m so happy for you.”
She glared at me, but beneath it, her skin glowed with unmistakable joy.
And I wanted to bottle it up for her. But you didn’t coddle Kiera, unless you were willing to lose a finger. “Come on, you can’t throw that juicy a bone and not expect me to go full National Enquirer.”
“It’s nothing.”
I tilted my head. “The hickey on your neck says otherwise.”
Kiera slapped a hand to her neck, which was very much hidden under her hair. Realizing I’d tricked her, she groaned. “Dammit.”
I raised a brow.
“Okay, fine,” she said. “It’s maybe something. But it’s also complicated. Ryder would kill him.”
“So you’re hiding your very attractive, very capable, very forbidden boyfriend like a Victorian widow with a scandal in the attic?”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Uh-huh. And I’m not using this conversation to avoid another one.”
She gave me a long look. “Don’t think I won’t circle back.” She hesitated. “I’m not sneaking around because I’m ashamed. I just…this is mine, you know? Just for me. I want to figure out what it is before the whole Colburn family declares it in a town hall meeting.”
The thing about Kiera was she wasn’t scared of much. But the more she liked Miguel, the more careful she’d become. And maybe I was doing the same thing—holding on to something good by pretending not to want more.
I smiled and hugged her hard. “That’s the most relatable thing you’ve ever said.”
Kiera sighed into her coffee, still watching the door Miguel had gone through.
I laughed as I turned to the back door. “I think my work here is done. Don’t forget to stay hydrated. Maybe stretch first. And for the love of God, tell Ryder before he finds out and commits a homicide.”
“Oh my God.” Kiera’s ears flushed again. “Why do I keep you around?”
“Because I have a cute sundress you want to borrow.” I nodded to where I’d set it over a chair when I’d come in. “Plus, I know where all your skeletons are buried.”
She laughed. Then—“Wait!”
I turned back. “You want to tell me all the dirty details? Because I will not stop you.”
“No, this is about you,” she said.
“Me?”
“I spilled. Now it’s your turn. Secret for a secret. Unless you’d prefer a blood oath.”
I reached jokingly for a knife in the block on the counter.
“Ha ha,” Kiera said. “Look, just give me one little secret, and I won’t have to kill you for knowing mine.”
I pretended to look at the time. “Gee, I’m pretty busy.
I’ve got to reorganize my junk drawer by emotional-damage level, and then there are all those questionable life choices to make…
Oh! And I’m overdue on an existential crisis, plus my latest Taylor Swift playlist isn’t going to make itself, so—”
“Oh, no, you don’t.” Kiera slid between me and the back door, blocking my exit by holding her arms out for dramatic effect. “You don’t get to stand there with your sassy-ass self, knowing eyeballs, and sparkling sneaks, judging my choices without coughing up some tea of your own.”
“Okay, first of all…” I lifted my worn-out blue sneaker. “These are vintage.” And they’d been my mom’s. I’d swiped them when boxing up some of her stuff the other night… “And second, I don’t have a scandal.” I paused. “Exactly.”
She pointed at me. “Tell me or…”
I crossed my arms and waited. “Or…?”
“Or…” She smiled. “I’ll cry.”
“You know I hate it when you cry.”
“Sucks for you. Talk.”
“This is emotional blackmail,” I said.
“And?”
I could lie. I wanted to. But Kiera’s expression—part fiercely loving sister, part nosy bloodhound—said she wouldn’t let me leave without something true.
Plus, if I was being honest with myself, I knew my friends, Tucker included, would be hurt that I hadn’t told them. “I have a job offer. It’s in Seattle.”
Kiera froze mid-sip.
“It’s a yearlong contract for a big restoration company. Full creative control. The kind of pay that makes you question your entire path.”
She stared at me. “What does Tucker think about it?”
Now I wished I’d taken Miguel’s coffee. “You’re the first person I’ve told.”
Kiera crossed her arms. “Are you planning to tell him?”
“I wanted to make up my mind before adding other people’s opinions to the mix.” A white lie…another version of running. I knew this.
Kiera’s eyes narrowed. “How long have you known?”
“A few weeks.”
“Hazel!”
I grimaced as guilt crawled up my spine.
I should have told him. Should have told everyone.
I knew this. I did. But I was afraid. Because what if he told me I should go?
I tipped my head back and stared at the ceiling, hating that my throat had gone tight and my eyes were burning.
“I don’t know how to do this, Key,” I whispered.
“I mean, what if I tell him and he says I should go for it? Or what if…?”
“What if he fights for you?” Kiera asked.
I sniffed and shook my head.
Kiera frowned. “You really think he wouldn’t try? After everything?”
I tossed up my hands. “I’m afraid to risk it. This thing between us…it feels good. And I’m scared if I push too hard, it’ll all come toppling down.”
She softened, took my hand. “Then don’t push. Just trust.”
I closed my eyes. “That’s harder than it sounds.”
“He looks at you like he’s choosing you. Every time. But as for you, I don’t think you’ve ever really let someone choose you.” She squeezed my fingers. “You once said you wanted someone who sees you, all of you—the good, the bad, the ugly—and stays anyway.”
“I did,” I said softly. “I said that.”
She squeezed my hand again. “Well, he sees you, honey. We all do, but especially Tucker. He’s already staying, Haze. Let him. Tell him. Give him the chance to meet you where you’re at.”
Tears threatened again, but this time they felt like something else. Not panic. Not guilt. Maybe…release. I swallowed hard and nodded.
From upstairs came a light thud. Then another.
The unmistakable sound of a man kicking off his boots.
I forced a smile. “Go.” I squeezed her hand back. “Let him see you.”
She stared at me for a long beat, pensive, worried.
“I’ll tell him,” I said. “Now go.”
She gave me a slow smile. “If I fall on my face, I’m blaming you.”
“Please do. I live for the drama.”
With a laugh, she was gone.
Alone in her kitchen, I nodded to myself. I’d tell Tucker, lay out all my cards.
No more secrets.