Page 91 of Rival Hearts

“So when I do it that way, I can’t overthink. I just look at the numbers. Numbers don’t lie, you know.” I ate some of my ice cream that had started to melt around the edges while I’d been talking.

Alex laughed, shaking his head.

“I’m going to have to try that.”

“Let me know if it works for you,” I said with a grin.

Alex put his ice cream down on the coffee table and leaned closer to me. He leaned his forehead against my shoulder.

“I don’t like being the bad guy.”

“Who said you’re the bad guy?”

“It feels like I am. No matter which way I turn, someone thinks I’m the bad guy.”

“You can’t keep everyone happy,” I said softly.

He nodded against me, and I put my ice cream down, too. I leaned back, and Alex shifted so that our bodies fit better together. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. I could see the lines of stress etched on his face.

I lifted my hand and slowly traced his features.

He opened his eyes, and they locked on mine. They were the color of winter, a bright blue, icy and guarded. But underneath his cold façade I knew he had so much warmth, too.

Work made him shut down, it seemed. Or the people he had to please.

Or… something.

I ran my fingers through his thick black hair.

“It’s going to be okay in the end, you know,” I said.

“How do you know?”

I traced a finger over the stubble on his pronounced jaw.

“Because if it’s not okay, it’s not the end.”

Alex scoffed softly. “That’s a cliché internet phrase.”

“Maybe,” I said. “Gabe used to tell me that when we were little, and even if it’s cliché… it makes you not give up but hold out for better days. And they do come, you know. Every time.”

Alex lifted his hand and took my hair between his fingers, rolling it, twisting it around his finger, tugging gently.

“Yeah, I guess that’s true. It’s all about the bigger picture. That’s what my dad told us for as long as I can remember.”

“He’s a smart man. Must run in the family.”

Alex smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes, and it faded again.

My heart ached for him. I wished I could make whatever was bothering him better.

“How can I help?”

“You’re doing plenty.”

“I’m not doing anything at all.”

Alex wrapped a strong arm around my waist and pulled me closer so that my body was halfway underneath his.