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My eyes widen. He’s never said anything like that to me before. I see his jaw tense, his throat move as he swallows hard, no doubt realizing that he’s overstepped. But he doesn’t take it back. And it’s wildly tempting to tell him just whatfirstI had earlier, clinging to him as we sped down the highway to get here.

“Get a room, you two,” Marilee drawls, grabbing a bowling ball. “Or better yet, bowling shoes. We have the perfect amount for two teams now.”

Sebastian goes to get us shoes, and when he comes back, Marilee effortlessly splits us into two teams, demanding that I be on hers, even though I explained to her that I’ve never actually bowled before. She ends up splitting the teams between girls and guys, with there being four of each here, and Sebastian grins at me as he picks up the ball.

Despite the fact that I’ve never tried this before, I’m actually not bad at it—and it’s more fun than I could have imagined. I manage a respectable score, while Sebastian—who claimed when Marilee split us all up that he hadn’t bowled since high school—somehow manages to get strike after strike and makes it look effortless.

“Is there anything you’re not good at?” I ask him as we return to the table, and he takes a sip of my abandoned beer. I grab it back, forcing a little more down my throat.Maybe the taste gets better as you drink it. I can see Tyler looking at me as he picks up a ball for his turn, and I quickly look away, refocusing on Sebastian.

The corner of his mouth twitches. “A few things,” he admits teasingly. “None of which I’m going to tell you about.”

“And what else are you good at?” I challenge, taking another sip of the beer.Am I tipsy already? That seems impossible, but something about all of this makes me feel bolder than I usually am. This isn’t a date, and Sebastian isn’t really myfriend, but it feels like it. It feels like we could be two normal people, out with friends. Like we might go back home together tonight, and go to bed, and…

“Plenty.” His eyes lock with mine, and I think I see his breath catch in his throat. “None of which I’m going to discuss with you, either, princess.”

I feel my skin heat. Before I can say anything else, or even take another sip of my beer, Marilee flops down in the seat next to me, her face flushed with alcohol and happiness.

“Your boyfriend is killing us all at bowling,” she says, nudging me with her elbow and giggling. “Where did you find him, anyway?” she continues, as if Sebastian isn’t sitting right there. “I know there’s no one who looks like him on campus.”

Boyfriend. The word, slipping out of Marilee’s lips so easily, stings.

Sebastian is my bodyguard. My protector. A man who would take a bullet for me without hesitation.

But he’s not really my boyfriend.

I force myself to shrug. “We met through my father,” I say quickly, the closest thing to the truth I can manage. “Nothing super exciting. No romantic story there, I’m afraid.”

I can feel Sebastian’s eyes on me, feel the sudden tension in him even from across the table. Why he’s so tense, I’m not sure—it’s not as if we didn’t discuss this beforehand. But he doesn’t contradict me, or say anything at all.

“Damn, girl,” Marilee whispers, not quietly enough that the rest of the table can’t hear her. “I wish my dad knew guys that sexy. And the way he looks at you? I’d kill for a man to look at me like that.”

“Marilee!” I hiss, hearing Rachel giggle from my other side. I don’t dare look at Sebastian. The table isn’t big enough that he isn’t hearing this from across it. Cora and her boyfriend are too busy chatting, but I can see Tyler watching us from the corner of my eye—no doubt curious about who Sebastian really is to me. “What do you mean,the way he looks at me?” I hear myself ask, before I can stop it.

Marilee rolls her eyes. “Like you’re the only other person in the room. Like he’d set the whole world on fire if you askedhim to. It’s… intense.” She grabs her beer, taking a sip, and fans herself dramatically. “It’s hot, honestly.”

I blink, trying to process everything she just said. Before I can respond, Tyler gets up, moving to slide into the seat on my other side.

“So, Estella,” he says, taking a sip of his beer. He’s sitting just a bit too close to me for comfort, and I try to squirm away, but Marilee is sitting very close on my other side, tipsy and cuddled into me like she hasn’t seen me in months. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Sebastian sitting up a little straighter, setting his beer down.

“Marilee said your dad’s in tech, or something like that,” he continues. “I did an internship at Apple. I’m working on my own app, and I’m looking for investors. You know anything about what he might be interested in?”

I force a smile. “I don’t really pay much attention to the family business,” I manage. “I was an art history major. It’s not really my thing, honestly.”

“Well, maybe you could put in a good word for me.” His hand rises, resting against my bare shoulder—a light touch, but impossible to miss. “We could even get together and talk about it sometime.”

From the corner of my eye, I see Sebastian’s demeanor shift. In an instant, he goes from slightly tense to something alert and predatory, his gaze watching Tyler’s every move. I know that look—I’ve seen it before, when guys would try to approach me on campus. One guy wouldn’t fuck off after I told him I wasn’t interested multiple times, and Sebastian appeared out of nowhere, pinning the guy’s arm behind his back. He’d have broken it if the guy hadn’t promised to never speak to me again.

“I really think that’s not my area of expertise,” I manage. “My boyfriend, Sebastian, knows a thing or two about it, though. Marilee introduced you earlier, right?”

The word hangs in the air between us, and I see Sebastian’s gaze flick to mine. There’s something dark in his eyes as he looks at me, a glimpse of something possessive and hungry, and my chest tightens. For a heartbeat, I wish he’d never stop looking at me like that.

He already protects me like I’m his. For that brief moment, I can’t help wishing that I really was.

“Sure,” Tyler says, and Sebastian extends a hand across the table.

“Maybe you forgot,” he says, his voice taut. “Sebastian. Your name was?—”

I see irritation flash in Tyler’s eyes. He’s not the kind of guy who likes to think that he’s forgettable. “Tyler Burnham,” he says, taking Sebastian’s hand to shake it.