“Rasputin,” I add.
“Sauron—”
“Bart.”
India sniggers, but Aurora is not impressed.
“I regret telling you anything,” she says, straightening and nudging past us.
“Come back,” I say as India’s snigger turns into a real laugh. “We’ll be nice. We’ll be nice!”
She ignores us, sweeping out of the room with regal dignity. But it doesn’t have the effect I know she’s hoping for.
Because at the end of the day, she’s still dating a guy namedBart.
India sighs, a tired, happy sound—although everything she does is happy these days, because she managed to fall in love with our brother’s best friend. “Things are changing,” she says, slouching over to the table and taking her seat again. “I’ve found Felix, and now I guess Aurora is dating someone?” She shrugs and glances at me, her smile fading. “I didn’t see that coming.”
“Neither did I,” I admit. It will take a strong, extremely confident man to keep up with Aurora. “We’ll see what happens, I guess.” I pause and then jerk my chin at her phone still on the table. “Tell Felix the guy’s name is Bart. See what he makes of that. We should also ask Poppy. I’m getting very specific vibes about this marketing manager.”
India wrinkles her nose. “I am too.” She grabs her phone and presses a few buttons, and a second later, she turns her call on speaker. We wait through three rings before Felix answers.
“You’re on speaker,” India says halfway through his greeting. “Did you see my text?”
“No,” he says. “Who all is here?”
“Me,” I say. “Jules. And we have a very serious question for you about a man Aurora might or might not be dating.”
“Ooh,” Felix says, his voice full of interest as it echoes through the kitchen. “I’m intrigued.”
India turns the volume down and then speaks. “She’s apparently casually dating a guy named Bart who smells like Axe body spray.”
“What are the chances he’s a tool?” I say.
“Hmm.” Felix’s hum buzzes over the line, a skeptical sound. “Bart? Axe body spray? Chances are pretty high. Don’t tell her I said that,” he adds quickly, and India and I grin.
Felix is scared of Aurora. And honestly? He should be. Aurora would bury his body where no one could find it if he broke India’s heart.
“Okay,” India says. “I’ll call you later, all right?”
“Yep,” he says. “Bye, Sunshine.”
They hang up, and India hums and falls silent for a second. There’s a little smile on her face, a private one, because India plays things close to the chest and always has. Then she looks at me and says, “What about you? Anyone on your radar?”
One face pops into my mind, grumpy and scowling, eyes filled with disapproval and disdain behind square-rimmed glasses.
“Nope,” I say lightly. I give her a bright smile. “I’m in a relationship with my job hunt.”
India snorts and resumes eating her quesadilla. “Let me know if you want to learn how to wash dogs. We’re pretty full, but I could try to make room for you at the Pampered Pup.”
“Thanks,” I say. “But I’m not quite that desperate.”
I will admit,though, despite what I tell my sister…I am alittledesperate. Which is how I find myself at my parents’ house the next morning—the house Luca Slater now rents.
And, as it turns out, breaking and entering is harder than it looks.
That’s mostly on me, I think. I just always picture people in movies, throwing rocks through windows as glass rains down around them. But this is my parents’ house.I can’t throw a rock through the window. I need to be in and out, quickly and quietly, and no one ever needs to know I’ve been here.
It’s just…my hands are sosweaty.And they’re shaking a lot, because I’m so nervous, you know? It’s not ideal. Aurora used to sneak in and out through this window all the time when we were teenagers. She climbed this exact same tree. I thought it would be simple.
