Page 92 of My Three Hometown Alphas

She sags against my side, head resting on my shoulder. “I don’t want you to go.”

“I don’t want to leave you, either,” I say, letting my cheek fall against the top of her head. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

“I’m going to miss you, too.” She’s quiet for a minute, then adds, “My uncles will, too.”

My whole body suddenly feels uncomfortable, like I can’t exist in my own skin. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to navigate this.

I go with the truth. “I’m going to miss all of you so, so much.”

Those words alone don’t seem like enough to encompass the ache that’s already seeping through every crevice of my heart, so I wrap my arms around her and hold her tightly against me.

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Avery

Just before Lylawent to bed about an hour ago, the wall was finally dry. We all helped her rearrange everything so she could sleep in her own room.

Will had suggested she sleep on the couch or in one of their rooms, but she was insistent that she wanted to be in her own room for the night.

Owen said she passed out so quickly he wasn’t worried about her waking up anytime soon. Now, the guys and I are laying on blankets Miles laid out on the grass in the backyard.

Not that I think it would be that big of a deal if she found us cuddling out here. That girl is too smart for her own good.

I’m pretty sure she knows something is happening between her uncles and me, or maybe it’s that she wants it to happen. She hasn’t said anything, but the knowing look in her eye makes me wonder sometimes.

I sigh, snuggling a little closer into Will’s side. The stars are sparkling to life in the rapidly darkening sky overhead.

I’m soaking up every second of this because it’s something I won’t see once I’m in Los Angeles in a matter of days.

I leave tomorrow morning for the airport where I’ll be flying to Atlanta for my graduation. I’ll be there a couple of days before flying back to Colorado.

I’ll drive back here to get all my things and… say goodbye. That goodbye will have to be quick. My heart won’t be able to take anything else.

Like that will be any easier…

I’m already dreading the long, lonely drive from Aspen Springs to Los Angeles. I’d better make a good playlist to listen to because I know I’m going to be a complete mess.

“I’m going to miss this,” I say, keeping my eyes trained on the twinkling masterpiece above.

“You won’t get to see them like this in the city,” Will says.

He’s right, but that isn’t all I was talking about. I’m going to miss the wide-open sky with the mountains cresting in the background, but I’m going to miss them more.

Owen gives my hand a squeeze from my other side. I tilt my head in his direction. His face is partially blanketed by the darkness surrounding us, but he’s close enough I can still make out his features.

He doesn’t say anything, but the look in his eyes says he knows. He knows the depth of everything I’m going to miss.

That’s one of the things about Owen and me that sets our connection apart from anyone else I’ve ever met. From the moment I crashed into his life, I felt like we understood each other on a soul-deep level.

It’s the type of connection that can be understood with very few words or sometimes none at all.

He presses his lips against my temple before gazing back up at the sky.

We all lay there in peaceful silence until the chill from the night air starts to make me shiver, despite the sweatshirt of Will’s I’m wearing over my T-shirt and shorts.

I should go.

“We should get you inside,” Miles says.