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“Beginners luck?” I shrug with my hands up.

Isla goes to get another bottle of wine while everyone continues laughing and enjoying themselves.

“Taylor just won her first game of twenty-five. You should get her some of the poitín, Ma!” Ryder calls out.

I drop my head back on my shoulders looking back at Knox. “What’s that?”

“It’s a bad headache in the morning.”

I grimace. “Well, thank you for the offer but I think I’m going to retire on a high and head on up.”

I can feel the heads turn in my direction but I ignore them as I make my way to the stairs. As soon as my feet reach the second step, Knox’s hand catches my elbow.

“Taylor—” I pause on the step, turning slowly to face him. “Everything alright?”

I have unfamiliar feelings for you and I more than enjoy your family. Even worse, I want you and them to reciprocate those feelings.‘Okay’ somehow doesn’t feel like the correct word for how I feel but I offer him a tight smile and nod my head.

“Big day tomorrow, I’m just ready to get some sleep.”

He studies my face, and I don’t dare try to swallow under his scrutiny. Finally, he dips his chin and leans in, placing a gentle kiss on my temple. My eyes flutter closed and my heartbeat matches. It’s a fairly modest gesture, especially compared to where we ended up the other night, but something about it has my stomach flipping and my mind wandering.

“Good night, Nova.”

I stand, frozen, watching his oversized figure until he rounds the corner back to the living room and I exhale thebreath I had been holding in and head up to my little corner room.

I drop my head back as I lean against my bedroom door, taking a moment. I’m startled by the vibration from my back pocket against the wooden door. I pull my phone out and smile at the picture on the screen.

“Jo-Bro,” I answer by way of greeting.

“Annie Oakley baby, what’s good?” I smile at the nickname and the familiarity and comfort that comes from hearing his voice. When I found a friend in Jonas no one believed we could keep things platonic. I don’t blame them, he’s handsome as hell, but I wasn’t looking for anything and neither was he. “You there?”

“Sorry,” I say, shaking my head. “Yeah, I’m here. How are you?”

“Good. Except I have to go to another fundraiser this weekend and I don’t have a date. Any chance you want to come home early?”

“Since when have you ever brought a date to one of those things? You always say‘Go in alone, have your pick who to bone.’”

“Maybe I’m maturing.” I laugh, pushing myself off the door frame and flopping down on my unmade bed. “Okay, that’s a lie, I’m probably not. I’m just bored of cruising for chicks by myself these days.”

“Cruising for chicks? What are you, eighty?”

“Enough about me. How’s Ireland?”

“It’s—”

“Hot?” he interrupts me.

“No… it’s actually pretty chilly most of the time.”

“Sweltering?”

“Dude, are you okay?” I ask, confused.

“Scorching, fiery, ripped?” I close my eyes asunderstanding dawns on me.

“She told you?!” I yell into the phone before getting up and putting it on speaker.

Jonas’s answering laugh has me rolling my eyes. “Technically, no, she was talking to Miles about it in his office and I overheard.”