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“No, seriously. It’s fine. She and I have been going at it all morning. I thought it was in good fun, but maybe I’ve been misreading the situation.” My stomach grinds at the thought that all of this was in my head.

“No, man. Trust me. She’s into you.”

I shoot him a look. “How do you know that?”

“It’s pretty damn obvious. She’s never looked at me the way she looks at you. The chemistry you two have is off the charts, but dude, you know what that means, right?”

I roll my eyes. “You’re not seriously going to give me the protective big brother speech, are you?”

“Do I have to?”

Nothing squeezes my heart more than the thought of hurting that woman. “No. I understand that, man, believe me. She’s different. She’s special. And we need to make sure she knows that.”

I push away from the counter, but he grabs my arm.

“Please, Case. Let me talk to her. After last night… I have to explain and try to make things right.”

My insides twist with mixed emotion at his plea. “Youcan’tmake things right. You get that, don’t you?”

His shoulders drop as he releases me, his gaze drifting to the empty hallway. “Yeah. Of course. Doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try.”

I search his expression and find the pain and sincerity I’m looking for. After a brief silence, I sigh and rub at my face. “Fine. Just… don’t lie to her, okay? You can jerk me around all day, but not her. Don’t make promises you know you can’t keep.”

He flinches, but I don’t regret it. The time for being gentle has passed, and if we’re going to fix this, we’re going to have to break some shit.

I hold my breath until he nods. “I’ll be straight with her. I promise.”

“Good.”

He smacks my shoulder with a “wish me luck” expression before following after Callie.

To say I’m jealous, and still nervous about what’s about to happen, is an understatement. This feels like one of those crossroads moments—Callie will have to decide if she’s going to stay on this convoluted path with us to heaven knows where, or run back to the security of her own world.

I know I shouldn’t, but there’s no way I’ll be able to sit here pretending to eat congealed eggs while a life-changing conversation is happening a few feet away.

Once I hear a knock, followed by voices, I creep down thehall to hide just out of view. The door is still open a crack, leaving me relieved and terrified I can hear everything.

“You know we fought over who would come in here,” Luke says.

“You lost, I guess?” she mumbles.

I shake my head in frustration. She really has no idea how special she is.

“No, I won!” he laughs in the same disbelief I’m feeling. “God, Callie, don’t you get it? We don’twantyou to be like us! We want you to think our music is pretty and tell us when we’re being assholes. You have to stop thinking that the gap that separates us is because of a shortcoming on your part. Did you ever think that it might be on ours?”

Damn. No wonder he’s the wordsmith of the band.

“I can be a major pain-in-the-ass,” he continues. “I know that. Last night…”

I see clear images of his struggle to explain when he pauses. I’ve seen it so many times.

And I need this time to be different. For so many reasons. If it is, it will be because of the girl in that room.

“Anyway, my point is, I’m sorry,” he says in a sincere tone. “I’m sorry for last night. I’m sorry for this morning. I have a ton of issues, but I never want you to think you’re one of them, okay?”

Another long silence follows, and it’s everything I can do not to burst through the door. I hear movement, and a twinge of jealousy runs through me when I guess why. Callie’s muffled voice when she speaks confirms my theory that they’re hugging. I fight the ugly feeling spreading through me. This moment isn’t about sex, but once again I’m reminded that I’m the third wheel in this relationship.

“I was so scared last night,” she says quietly. “I didn’t know… I mean, you… I hated seeing you like that.”