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True.

And Duchess.

She had the cat cradled against her while she slept and I was on my knees in front of the couch before I could fully register it.

She was here.

“True.” Her name rushed past my lips before I was kissing her face.

They woke up slowly, but True was the only one who looked happy to see me. Duchess aimed a deadly squint at me before climbing over True’s chest and stretching with a purr.

True snickered, wiping the sleep from her eyes. “What time is it?”

“Eleven.”

“Damn,” she groaned, her stretch mimicking Duchess’s. Her red sweater rode up, exposing her stomach over the band ofGreyson’s sweats. Or my sweats. I shook my head. It didn’t matter. She was here. She wasn’t gone.

Eyes jumping back to her face, I asked, “You were waiting for me? You didn’t leave?”

“I wouldn’t just leave Bliss Peak without telling you, Noah. But you wouldn’t let me say that this morning.”

“Sorry, I panicked.”

True smiled softly at my solemn tone and reached out to cup my face. “It’s okay.”

“We’re okay?”

She hesitated, biting her lip. “Yea, Noah. We’re okay. But I can’t be around your parents if that’s how you let them treat you. I’ll never be quiet about it and you’ll always be mad at me.”

“I know,” I whispered, dipping my head to kiss her. I didn’t want to talk about my parents right now. What I wanted was the softness of her lips, and the safety of her tongue wrapped around mine.

With her hand still cupping the side of my face, she kissed me back, groaning when I pulled away.

“I wishyouweren’t quiet about it either,” she added, giving me a pained look. I opened my mouth to tell her I was going to work on that, but Greyson’s voice cut in before I could say it.

“You’re awake.”

I didn’t know if he was talking to me or True, but he walked past us on the couch and straight to the kitchen.

“Let’s eat.”

“Why are we having dinner so late?” I asked, grabbing my glass of water. When I realized neither one of them had dinner beforeI woke up, I couldn’t hide my confusion. We were at the table, eating as if it was seven instead of eleven at night.

True kept eating as Greyson paused to turn his head and stare at me, his eyes unreadable as he said, “We were waiting on you.”

“I was sleep for six hours.”

He nodded. “We know. We didn’t start cooking until eight. True took a nap after we got back too.”

When he reached for the bowl of rice to put more on his plate, his arm brushed mine and everything on me came alive. He had on a black thermal, but all it took from him lately was the lightest touch and I was lost to the feeling.

“You must have needed the sleep,” True chimed in, dropping her fork. “Oh, speaking of sleep—I saw your sister today. She gave me some tea for you. I don’t know where my purse is though.” Her brows tugged together and she looked beyond the dining table to the living room.

“It’s in my room,” Greyson told her, his focus back on his food.

“Wait. You saw my sister today? Onpurpose?”

A quiet giggle came before her explanation. “No, I guess not. But I went to have a drink with Goldyn and she walked in. Said she was there to get some takeout, but she stayed for a drink.”