Page 68 of Knot Your Sugar Rush (Starling Grove #2)

Chapter sixty-eight

Cam

T he safehouse is quiet, but my thoughts aren’t.

I slip away from the table after breakfast, tea still warming my palms as I find the little patch of sunlight in the corner by the window. The blanket stays wrapped around my shoulders, cocooning me in the lingering scents of the pack—warm, grounding, safe.

I let my mind drift to Zae. My sister would have loved this: the adventure, the wildness, the way the air smells sharp and new after a night in the woods.

She’d have teased me about my hesitation, coaxed me toward the unknown with that grin of hers, daring me to jump first. She was always braver than me—or maybe just less afraid of falling.

Thinking of her now makes my chest ache in that old, familiar way, but it’s softer, too.

I like to think she’d be proud I’m here at all.

The floorboards creak behind me, and when I turn, Theo is there, rubbing a hand at the back of his neck like he’s not sure if he’s interrupting.

“I’ve been looking at the maps again,” he says quietly, holding a folded sheet in one hand. His voice is low, like the words are just for me. “I think I’ve found a better route to the flower. Safer. And… maybe faster.”

Something in his tone makes me step closer. He smells like tea and fresh air, like the outside still clings to him. “You never stop looking, do you?” I ask.

He smiles—small, almost shy—and I can’t help it. I lean in and kiss him.

It’s not tentative, not anymore. My fingers find the edge of his sweater, clutching lightly as he responds, his hands bracketing my waist. The kiss deepens, turns warmer, fuller, until my toes curl and my heart is racing like it wants to match his.

The whole world narrows to the press of him, the way he exhales through his nose like he’s been holding his breath all morning.

When we finally part, my cheeks are warm and my lips tingle.

Jamie’s voice calls from the kitchen, followed by the sound of Dane’s laugh, and a moment later they appear in the doorway. They both glance at me, then at Theo, and there’s a flicker of knowing in their eyes that I don’t even try to deny.

I tug the blanket closer and meet their gazes. “If you’re all with me… I’m ready to find the flower again.”

Dane’s grin is slow and certain. “Always with you.”

Theo’s hand brushes mine, deliberate and sure, and Jamie nods, his smile steady.

And suddenly the idea of trying again doesn’t feel like a weight. It feels like a promise.