Page 11 of My Three Hometown Alphas

Then he looks up—and every cell in my body freezes as my eyes lock on his familiar sky-blue depths.

CHAPTER THREE

Owen

Everything stops.The breath I was taking freezes in my lungs. My arms halt in mid-air.

Hazel eyes jolt me back to a time when my sister was still alive. When I was still me, not the version I am now.

“Owen,” she says, her voice barely audible.

I can sense both of my brothers’ eyes roaming between us in confusion, but I don’t really care right now.

Avery is standing in my living room. Nothing else is processing through my brain.

Her eyes briefly leave mine, snapping to Will, Miles, then Lyla. Avery sucks in a sharp breath, her hand coming up to cover her mouth.

When she slowly draws her eyes back up to meet mine, they’re glossy and filled with so much sorrow it makes my knees weak.

“You two know each other?” Will speaks up.

Avery’s eyes widen, still locked on me. She doesn’t say anything, leaving the response up to me.

“Yeah, we met at an airport a few years ago,” I say.

That one simple sentence doesn’t come close to encompassing what all transpired during our time together, butthat’s all I’m willing to share. The rest of that time is sacred between the two of us.

I’ve thought about her more in the last four years than I thought would be humanly possible. The connection we made in such a short time is rare.

With hindsight, I’ve realized it’s probably a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. From the moment she walked onto that plane, I knew I would never feel anything like that with anyone else.

I haven’t really been searching for anything since then, though. Seeing my sister deteriorate before my eyes and then existing in a world where she no longer did broke a part of me I don’t think will ever heal.

In all honesty, I don’t really want it to. This version of me hasn’t had any interest in finding a relationship, let alone love.

“You didn’t know Will hired me?” Avery asks me.

I shake my thoughts away. “No, I didn’t know.”

She nods once, clearly unsure of how I’m going to react to her being here.

I can’t take it anymore. Closing the distance between us in four steps, I wrap my arms around her. Her head immediately falls against my chest, arms banding tightly around my waist.

A sense of déjà vu from our last hug in the airport settles over me. Holding her feels more right than anything has in a very long time.

When I finally peel my eyes away from the top of her head, I lock eyes with Will. He looks utterly confused and halfway concerned. I mouth the word “later,” and he nods in return.

Miles leans in closer to Lyla, who’s looking at me like I might be a little bit crazy.

Maybe I am.

“Let’s go clean up the mess we made in the backyard,” Miles says. Lyla groans but follows him outside.

“I’ll give you two a minute,” Will says, stepping toward the kitchen where I’m sure he’s going to start on dinner. “Her suitcase is still in my truck,” he adds, glancing at me over his shoulder.

I grab Avery’s hand. “Come on. I’ll show you the guesthouse.”

She follows along at my side. I manage to retrieve her suitcase with only one hand because I’m not about to let her go. I’m afraid if I do, she might blow away like the leaves in the breeze.