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As I turned off the Jeep’s engine, Luca threw open the door leading from the garage into the house. He met us there, wrapping his arms around Mia as she mounted the two steps to the doorway.
“I’m so sorry,” he said into her hair. “I know you were half expecting it, but it still sucks.”
“It does,” she agreed, still in that carefully even tone of voice.
“Come on,” I urged gently. “Let’s get inside where it’s warm.”
“We’re having a sleepover tonight in the nest,” Luca said. “You want to take a shower first?”
Mia shook her head wordlessly; the first real sign that she wasn’t as okay as she was pretending to be. Usually, she was in a hurry to wash off the scent of grill char and fry oil after a shift.
“I’ll be right up,” I said, handing her off to Luca.
Hurrying to the guest bedroom where I still kept my clothes and personal belongings, I changed into sleep pants and an old shirt before jogging upstairs. The door to Luca’s nest was open, the spacious room seeming noticeably smaller with six people in it.
Wading through the mess of pillows on the floor, I joined the others. They were gathered around Mia, who still looked worryingly distant in her borrowed thigh-length T-shirt. Emiel reached up from the floor and tugged her down with him, gathering her into his arms. Luca immediately lay down and wriggled in next to her, bracketing her from behind.
A large hand grasped me by the nape of the neck and gave me a little push toward the trio.
“Go on,” Byron said gruffly.
I slotted in behind Luca without an argument. “This okay?” I asked, waiting for his distracted nod before wrapping my arms around his slender frame. My hand landed on Mia’s hip.
Zalen sank to sit cross-legged among the cushions in front of us, pulling Mia’s bare feet into his lap. Byron hesitated before settling in behind me, the heat of his broad chest soaking into my back.
“Christ, I’m turning into acuddler,” he grumbled, as though it was a foul insult. “You people are theworst.”
Zalen shot him a quelling look before turning his full attention to Mia. “How are you feeling, sweetheart? Do you want to talk about it?”
Mia was still for a moment. Then she shook her head, her face buried against Emiel’s neck.
“I don’t know what to do next,” she admitted, after a small pause.
Luca squeezed her tighter. “Have a good cry? Maybe throw some pillows at the wall?”
“I don’twantto cry about it!” she said, a plaintive note creeping into her voice. “I... I don’t—” She drew in a hiccupping breath and abruptly burst into tears.
Emiel made a soft noise of distress, and a moment later, a deep sound like the purr of a giant cat vibrated up from his chest. Mia clutched at him and cried harder.
My heart broke for her.
“It’s all right,” Zalen said soothingly. “Things are going to be all right, I promise. We’ve got you.” His dark brown eyes swept to me in the nest’s low light. “We’ve got both of you. We’ll figure it out.”
FIFTY-EIGHT