Chapter 3
LOCKE
The vibe of the party shifts instantly. Hutch stares at his stepsister—the one we’ve only ever heard is evil—and Auden rubs at his back while her other hand rests on her belly.
Nobody else moves, though, and it’s clear we aren’t exactly sure what to do.
It’s like we’re out on the ice, waiting for our captain’s instructions.
Or at least everyone else is. I’m still too damn busy staring at Vanessa . Hutch’s stepsister —his evil stepsister, apparently.
I can’t believe… This can’t be the same person he’s talked about. My Nessa can’t be his Vanessa. That night in New York proved to me otherwise. She was sweet. She was funny. Sure, she was feisty as hell, but she was so much more than that too.
“Well, this is awkward.”
I guess not all of us are struck stupid after all. Hayes groans at Lawson, and Keller reaches over and smacks him upside the head.
“Shut the heck up,” he barks at our team’s golden retriever.
Any other time, I’d acknowledge that Keller just censored himself around the little ears listening in and make fun of him for it, but I don’t. I am still looking at her . Willing her to recognize me. To say something. To show me anything to prove our night wasn’t all in my head.
But she doesn’t.
“Surprise?” she says hesitantly to her brother.
Hutch laughs humorlessly. “That’s one damn way to put it.”
She winces, and I hate it. I hate that Hutch isn’t making her feel welcome. That he’s staring at her like he’d rather she be anywhere else in the world right now.
“What are you doing here, Vanessa?”
“I, uh…” She tucks a long strand of blonde hair behind her ear, her eyes flitting around the room.
I silently beg her to let them linger on me, but they don’t. She moves on like I’m nobody, catching everyone’s gaze before staring back at Hutch. It stings.
“Can we talk privately?”
He sighs, nods once, and mutters, “Excuse us for a moment.”
Then he strides from the room, Auden struggling to catch up to him, and Vanessa follows along, looking unsure with each step.
I hold my breath, waiting for her to look back at me, but she doesn’t.
I don’t release it until she’s gone, but even then, it feels like a struggle, like she took all the air in the room with her.
It’s the same way I felt when I woke up to find the bed beside me was cold.
“That is the evil stepsister, right?” Lawson asks once they’re out of earshot. Or at least I hope she is.
“That’s her,” Lilah confirms. “I’ve seen photos from when Auden went to New York for Christmas.”
“She seems nice,” Quinn remarks.
She is nice , I want to scream, but I keep my mouth shut.
I remain still, even though I want to follow her so badly.
I’m rooted to my spot, which is why I can clearly see Fox staring at me.
I don’t like it. Not one damn bit. Especially with that little smirk on his lips like he knows something nobody else does.
My fingers twitch with the urge to flip him off, but I don’t.
It’s Fox. He’s the nicest guy I know, and I can’t be an asshole like Keller.
I cut my gaze away, straining to hear anything I can from the living room where they went, but it’s pointless.
Whatever they’re saying is drowned out by my teammates bickering like a bunch of children.
“Why do you say the dumbest crap ever, Lawsy?”
“Why do you have to be such a…” Lawson looks down at Flora, who isn’t paying them any attention. “…a pecker, Keller?”
Hayes snickers. “Pecker.”
“Why is pecker funny? I like those on my pizza,” Flora says, apparently paying attention after all.
Quinn shoots him a look, then bends down to Flora’s height. “You like peppers, not peckers. And it’s not a funny word. Uncle Adam is just in a goofy mood, is all.”
The kid nods, then goes back to playing with Pickles, who is batting at her softly, all while Lawson, Keller, and Uncle Adam himself try to hold back their laughter.
“Does anyone know why the stepsister is here?” Rory asks.
“Not a clue,” Lilah says. “But I know I’m curious as hell.” She tiptoes closer to the living room to catch a bit of their conversation, but Fox grabs her elbow, stopping her.
“Come on, sugar. Let them have their privacy. Besides, I’m sure Auden will give you the rundown later,” her boyfriend says.
“Always the good boy ,” Keller mutters, and Fox has a physical reaction to the two words.
Nobody misses it, nor the way Lilah’s cheeks redden.
Lawson laughs, then holds his hand up for a high five. “Nice one, Kells.”
In a rare moment of solidarity, Keller reciprocates, leaving Rory staring open-mouthed at the teammates.
I’d find the whole thing comical if I didn’t have one eye on the living room, willing Vanessa to return so I can get a glimpse of her again.
Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it wasn’t her. Maybe it was just someone who looked eerily like her. Maybe it was?—
Oh, who am I kidding? It was her. I’d know those green eyes anywhere, know that golden hair of hers and that smile from a million miles away. It was her, and I want to know why she acted like she didn’t know me.
“Where are you going?” Fox asks.
It takes me a moment to realize he’s talking to me. I didn’t even know I was moving, but I am. I’m heading right for where Hutch and his sister took off to.
“Bathroom,” I say, catching his gaze.
That same fucking knowing smirk from before. What does he know? Not shit.
Even so, his expression haunts me as I turn into the restroom that’s tucked in the hall between the dining and living rooms. It’s still there, taunting me as I close the door behind me and press my ear against the wood. If I hold my breath, I can make out a few words.
“…the fuck, Van? Why here?”
“I-I…I don’t know, Reed. I just needed to get away. I needed a fresh start. I needed…”
I can’t hear the rest, Lawson’s loud laugh from the other room covering up whatever she’s saying. He quiets, and I focus back in.
“…mad?”
Hutch sighs. “I’m not mad. I’m just…fucking confused. You don’t even… We don’t even… I…”
Then there’s silence from everywhere in the house. I’m not even out there, and I can tell it’s awkward. I wish I could be out there, to see her face during all this, to gauge how she’s feeling. And to maybe protect her from Hutch, who clearly doesn’t like her.
I turn on the faucet and pretend to wash my hands, making my getaway before anyone can discover I came in here to eavesdrop. I flick the light off, stepping into the hallway—and right into someone.
“Shit, sorry,” I say, reaching out to steady them.
Soft skin. Wildflowers. Lavender.
Nessa.
Her green eyes collide with mine, and I’m breathless again.
“Sorry,” she says softly, stepping back and out of my grasp, leaving me feeling like I’m reaching for a ghost.
It’s fitting, really, but I try not to think about that. I’m too focused on how she’s looking at me like she first did in New York—like a complete stranger.
Actually, no. That wouldn’t be true. She never looked at me like that, not even then. But now…
“I was just…” She points to the door behind me, like she can’t wait for me to be gone and out of her way.
I nod, swallowing down the realization that she really doesn’t remember me.
“Right. Sure. My bad.”
She gives me a polite smile, one so small it’s barely noticeable.
But I notice it. I notice everything about her.
Her tired eyes. How her hair is just a little out of place, like she’s been running her hands through it repeatedly.
How scratchy her voice is, as if she hasn’t slept in days.
I notice it all. I did then, and I do now.
I just fucking wish she’d notice me too.
“Oh, and hey?”
She turns, looking back at me. She rolls her tongue over her lips, the same ones that tasted like cherry. “Yes?”
“Welcome to Washington… Nessa .”
A flinch. A sharp inhale.
I know all I need to—she remembers, and fuck if that doesn’t spark the tiniest flame of hope. Hope for what? I don’t know. She’s still Hutch’s stepsister. She’s still his family. She’s still so fucking forbidden it’s not even funny.
But that flame flickers anyway…and I don’t dare make a move to extinguish it.