Page 143 of Heartless Stepbrother

Proud, even.

Tessa nudged me. “Girl, the way you walked up to him? Like you were about to end his entire bloodline.”

“I—“ I coughed, cheeks burning. “I don’t think that’s how it looked.”

“Oh, it is,” Jo insisted. “We saw his face. He expected you to break. You didn’t.”

“He kissed me back like I did,” I muttered.

Harper smirked. “That’s because he’s Riley. He’ll kiss anyone like that if it helps him win.”

The girls exchanged glances, then looked at me.

“But you didn’t look weak,” Malia said firmly. “You did the opposite. You didn’t melt. You didn’t cling. You didn’t stutter. And you pulled away like you were bored.”

I blinked. “I… did?”

“Yeah,” Tessa said. “A little too convincingly, actually.”

My heart eased just a fraction.

Maybe they hadn’t seen the tremor in my knees.

Maybe they hadn’t noticed the way my breath shook.

Maybe they hadn’t felt the war happening inside me.

Maybe, just maybe, I hadn’t embarrassed myself.

“Come on,” Malia said, looping her arm through mine. “Let’s get out of the circle before someone spins that bottle again and tries to rope you into kissing someone else.”

“Yes,” Jo agreed. “Preferably someone who won’t turn it into psychological warfare.”

We slipped away from the center of the circle, heading back toward the quieter stretch of sand near the drinks table. The fire crackled behind us, laughter rising with the sparks.

But I still felt Riley’s eyes on my back.

Like he was tracking me.

Measuring me.

Waiting.

When we reached the shadows beyond the firelight, Harper leaned in.

“Luna?”

“Yeah?”

“You didn’t lose.”

I swallowed.

But before I could answer…

My phone buzzed again in my pocket.

My stomach dropped.