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Over the remainder of the afternoon, I manage to clean up most of my grandmother's dish collection. Some pieces should stay in the family, while most of the rest can be sold or donated. By the time I box things up, the sun is getting low in the sky. My work here for the moment is finished, and the idea of staying here after dark holds little appeal. Already, in the growing dimness, the rattling of the siding and the cobwebs in the corners seem more menacing.

My stomach gives a nervous twist. Going back to the guys' place holds its own menace. But not going there means excluding the possibility of this happening all together.

I'm not ready to write it off so fast.

The one good thing is that I have a vehicle of my own, now. If I want to escape, I can run at any time.

And if I want to stay…

Well. There's nothing keeping me from doing that, either.

18

Apparently, I lingered at my grandmother's house longer than I thought.

My plan was to find Cayden and try to get him alone for a serious heart to heart as soon as I walked in the door, but by the time I make it back to the guys' place, the dinner rush is in full swing. The smell of baked pasta wafts through the air, making me remember my hurried breakfast and my sparse lunch. My stomach growls.

In the kitchen, I find Adam at the stove and Sergio chopping up stuff for a salad. Deandre is setting the table, while Jax pours drinks, and Cayden, the guy I really need to talk to, is up on a ladder, changing light bulbs of all the ridiculous things.

Crap. There go my chances of pulling him aside without anyone noticing.

Not that the odds of that happening were good to start with. The instant I turn the corner, Sergio nods at me. Adam picks up on the motion and turns, hitting me with a bright, soft smile that melts my insides.

"Haley, you're just in time. Hope you're hungry?"

"Starving," I admit. I glance at Cayden again. He meets my gaze, and I'm transported to his bed in my mind, remembering the soft kisses he gave me on his way out the door, promising to do more delicious things to my body tonight. I swallow, warmth flowing through me.

Only then Jax steps into my line of view. His jaw is tight, his smile tighter.

Jeez, I really must have done a number on him, leaving the way I did this morning, without giving him an answer. I still need more time to process how I feel about him, but I nod at him all the same.

"Hi," I say.

"Hi." He sets down the bottles of beer he'd been carrying and steps closer. "You okay?"

Suddenly, the room seems a lot quieter. No one stops what they're doing, or is so obvious as to actively stare, but the attention of every one of the guys is like a weight, pressing in on me.

Incredibly self-conscious, I fiddle with the hem of my top. "Yeah, um. Yeah. Fine. Got a lot done at my grandmother's house."

"I figured that was where you went. Though you could have said."

Oh. Yeah, in hindsight I didn't tell anyone where I was off to this morning. That was kind of inconsiderate—and potentially more than kind of stupid. The hike up the road isn't terribly dangerous, but you never know.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. I just would have offered you a ride, or something."

I shrug. "I wanted to walk. Needed to, you know. Clear my head."

His throat bobs. "Right. How'd that go?"

And we haven't actually said a damn thing about his revelations, but the subtext is just as heavy as the attention we're attracting. If I didn't believe him about the whole group sex thing, I sure do now. Everyone seems keenly interested in my answer.

Only I don't have one. "Still working on it."

"Got it." He nods tightly.

Everyone in the room seems to take a breath as one, and just like that, we're back in motion. Jax turns on a dime and takes the beers to the table. His posture is rigid, and he doesn't meet my gaze. I probably would have read a lot of things into that kind of attitude yesterday.