Page 28 of My Three Hometown Alphas

With her feet pulled up to her chest, she starts to read her book. The position doesn’t look that comfortable to me, but she seems content. Her dark hair is pulled back in a braid with several pieces blowing around her face in the breeze.

Every once in a while, she looks up from the device in her hand to the fading colors that are dusted across the sky over the mountains.

I blink back to reality, realizing I’ve been standing here staring at her for who knows how long. Quickly grabbing my pile of clothes from the bed, I book it into the bathroom and start the shower.

The hot water does little to divert my thoughts from her. If anything, it heightens my awareness. The urge to stroke my now-hard cock to filthy thoughts of her is strong, but I can’t do that.

She’s twelve years younger than me, for crying out loud.

I let my forehead fall against the cool tile, letting out a resigned sigh. I’m not the only male member of this household who’s taken an interest in Avery. That’s become very apparent over the last week.

Owen wasn’t entirely upfront about what happened between them years ago, but it’s obvious whatever it was isn’t entirely left in the past.

He seems a little lighter since she’s been here, though. There have been little glimpses of the brother I haven’t seen since the day Liv took her last breath.

Maybe she’s reminding him of who he was back then. Maybe she’s giving him a safe space to be that person again. I don’t know for sure, but whatever it is, I’m not going to fight it.

Then, there’s Miles. That idiot doesn’t go five minutes without flirting or messing with her—and unlike most the women I’ve seen him with, she gives it right back.

The fact that Avery is leaving in a few months doesn’t seem to faze my youngest brother at all. I feel like they’re a train barreling toward a crash, but…

I turn off the water, grabbing a towel.

It seems inevitable at this point that something is going to happen between Avery and one of my younger brothers.Hell, maybe even both of them.

A rush of unwanted feelings surge through me, jealousy being the heavy hitter.

Not my monkeys. Not my circus.

I pause, staring at my reflection in the mirror above the sink.

But they kind of are my monkeys, and it is my circus.

Fuck my life.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Avery

Begrudgingly,I drag my running shorts up my legs. I’ve worn them many times, but never to actually to go on a run. While I work out regularly, running isn’t and never has been on the roster of activities I cycle through.

Knowing that I’m not going to impress anyone, Miles included, I throw on a cut-off T-shirt over my sports bra. I’m tying my shoes when there’s a knock on the door.

I swing it open, finding Miles standing there. A huge smile is plastered on his face. I stare back with the disdain I feel for the activity I’m being forced to participate in.

“It’s way too early for you to be that happy,” I say, leaning against the doorway.

He playfully rolls his eyes. “It’s never too early to be happy.”

I’m going to punch him in the face.

He grabs my hand, pulling me out onto the sidewalk. “The sooner we get started, the sooner you can be done.”

I groan, cursing myself for ever making that bet with him.

Lyla sets her empty cereal bowl in the sink, running up the stairs to get ready for the day.

“I bet she comes down in her white shirt with sunflowers on it,” Miles says, sipping his coffee at the table.