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The girls’ eyes go wide at that. Meanwhile, my heart is thrashing so wildly in my chest that I feel like I’m about to pass out.

My wife .

Every time he says that, my vagina levels up in her pursuit of luring him inside. She’s feral, and containing her is starting to become challenging.

Dallas raises an eyebrow, casting me a curious glance. To my relief, he just shrugs and turns back to his food. “That’s fine. I don’t need family to win.”

Willow chuckles. “Your confidence is getting a little out of hand, babe.”

“Come on, Goose. As long as I have you, I’m good.”

“Uh, are you forgetting that I’ll be nice and round by then?”

He kisses her temple. “It’s your mind that I love most about you anyway. I’ve got the guys from the restaurant for the physical stuff.”

Astrid leans forward in her chair, a wicked grin on her face. “I hope Hazel’s team wipes the floor with you, Dallas.”

“Is someone still bitter about losing to me two years ago?”

Penn chimes in. “Just keep talking shit, Dallas. We’ll see who gets the last laugh when we beat you by a landslide.”

Gage clears his throat and turns to my mother. “Not gonna lie, Catherine—I’m a little concerned what state your family will be in when this is all said and done.”

She looks at my husband. “I’m not. They all know that if they ever want to eat my cooking again, they’ll squash their pettiness before they walk through the front door.”

And just like that, the matriarch has spoken.

***

“ So what’s going on with you and Gage?” Dallas walks up to me as I step out of the bathroom.

I lower my voice. “Nothing.”

“Yeah, I’m not buying that. He called you his wife.”

“Technically, that’s what I am.”

He shakes his head. “No, that wasn’t just a label. That was something else.”

I try not to think about what he’s insinuating. “We’re just trying to get through the next four months.”

He arches a brow. “I thought you agreed no feelings.”

“We did.”

He glances toward the living room and then motions for me to follow him further down the hall. He leads me into my old bedroom, shutting the door behind us. “I’m sorry, but the way that man is acting, I’m telling you—there are feelings involved.”

My pulse starts to climb. “Why do you say that?” I debate how much I should divulge to my older brother, but at this point, maybe I need a man’s opinion.

“I have eyes, Hazel. I know that look on his face.”

“Things are…complicated.”

“Would that have anything to do with Nathan?”

I whirl around so fast I nearly topple over. “How do you know about Nathan?”

“Gage came to my restaurant for lunch that day, remember?”

It hadn’t even occurred to me that Gage might talk to my brothers about Nathan’s visit.

“What did he say?”

“ He was asking about him, wanted to know if he should be worried because—”

“Are you two plotting world domination in here, or just talking shit about me?”

I whirl around, finding Penn leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, smirking like the pain in the ass that he is.

Dallas sighs. “Don’t you knock?”

“It’s my parents’ house. What am I knocking for?” He steps inside, shutting the door behind him before dropping onto the bed. “So, what’s this about?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Dallas was just telling me that my brothers have been gossiping about my exes with my husband, apparently.”

“You talking about lunch the other day?” Penn asks, and I nod, growing more irritated. “Yeah, well, he wanted to know if Nathan was a threat.”

“And what did you all tell him?”

Dallas exchanges a glance with Penn before answering. “We told him the truth.”

Fury starts to boil in my veins as I point at my two oldest brothers. “You had no right.”

Penn stands and takes a step forward. “That’s where you’re wrong. We have every right to protect you.”

“But he doesn’t,” I say, jabbing a finger toward the living room where everyone else is.

Penn’s eyebrows draw together. “Last I checked, you’re married and he’s living with you, so yeah, he has a right to know if there’s a potential threat to your safety. And frankly, if he didn’t care, I’d be more concerned.”

I s hake my head, vibrating with anger. “I’m not some defenseless little girl! I have been surviving just fine on my own for years, and he is just counting the days until he can sign the divorce papers and leave Carrington Cove.”

Dallas takes a step closer to me and lowers his voice.

“Hazel, listen to me. Any man who is that concerned about your safety? Who stands up for you in front of your entire family? Who declares that he’s on your team over anyone else’s?

That’s not just a boy playing house. That’s a man who has real feelings for you. ”

I stand there, blinking, because I don’t have any words left.

Is Dallas right? Has all this back and forth really been because Gage is struggling with his feelings as much as I am?

That’s what the girls suggested too, but this is coming from my brothers, two of the men that I respect the most. Sure, my brothers annoy the hell out of me, and their protectiveness is borderline barbaric sometimes, but I don’t know what I would do without them in my life.

It still doesn’t change the fact that I don’t have answers to their questions or that I care to admit that they could be right. My annoyance is skyrocketing and all I want to do is leave—now.

“I appreciate your concern, but I’d appreciate it even more if you two would mind your own business for once.” I march to the door, but as I move to open it, Penn’s voice stops me.

“You and Gage don’t have all the time in the world, Hazel. If you want to know if there’s real potential for you two, put yourself out there and figure it out. At least then you’ll know where you stand.”

His words strike me square in the chest—because I know he’s speaking from experience. He almost lost Astrid before he finally pulled his head out of his ass.

I k now my brothers are just trying to look out for me, but I need time to process everything they just threw at me. So, without another word, I leave the room.

When I step into the living room, my irritation is simmering just under the surface, ready to boil over. But then I see Gage sitting on the couch, talking with my mom, grinning from ear to ear.

He looks happy. He looks comfortable. He looks like he belongs here, with us.

And that just pisses me off even more—because I know he’ll never admit he wants to stay.

***

I didn’t say a word to Gage during the ride home from my parents’ house. My mind was spinning, trying to decide whether I should even bring up his conversation with my brothers, or just let it go.

But when we got home, I found something on my bed that I wasn’t expecting.

With the stack of drawings in hand, I march into the living room and finally let the anger that’s been simmering all night boil over.

I find Gage on the couch, scrolling on his phone.

“What the hell is this?”

Gage looks up from his phone. “I’m sorry?”

I wave the drawings in front of his face. “What is this?”

Setting his phone on the coffee table, he stands and takes a few steps toward me, a smirk playing on his lips. “Looks like paper to me.”

“I know it’s paper, dickhead. These drawings…did you make them?”

“I did.”

I t oss them onto the coffee table, watching them scatter. “Why did you leave them on my bed?”

He shrugs, still smirking. “I figured you could use some new coloring material.”

I flick my eyes back and forth between his, trying to understand his motives, how he can be so cold and guarded then do something thoughtful.

He sketched my name, a hummingbird, and ‘Spitfire,’ all in hollow letters with intricate designs, something very similar to what I would find in one of my coloring books.

And they’re beautiful, an expression of Gage’s talent as an artist.

But why did he do that for me ?

“Why did you go to my brothers about Nathan?”

Gage’s head rears back. “Where the hell did that come from?”

Crossing my arms, I straighten my spine and decide enough is enough. “You don’t get to ask my family about my ex when you won’t even talk to me about anything real.”

He watches me for a beat, his jaw flexing, something unreadable flickering in his eyes—like he’s debating his next move.

Then he takes a step closer, his chest nearly brushing mine. “You want to talk?” His voice is low, rough. “Then tell me the truth right now. Tell me why you moved closer to me the second that asshole walked into your studio.”

I lift my chin, refusing to break eye contact. “No. You don’t get to see all my scars when you’ve shown me none of yours.”

His nostrils flare. “And there’s your answer. I went to your brothers because your reaction told me something was fucking off with that guy, and you sure as hell weren’t going to tell me.”

I h uff out a laugh. “That’s rich, coming from the guy who’s taking secret phone calls and pushing me away anytime I get too close…because you’re clearly hiding something from me.”

His jaw ticks. “You don’t need to know everything about my life, Spitfire.”

“Right back at you, asshole.”

A slow smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth. “Is that my new nickname?”

“It’s not new. I’ve been calling you that in my head since the moment I met you…the second time.”

He clenches his fists at his sides, and his eyes drop to my lips, darkening. Then his voice drops to something lethal. “God, I’d love nothing more than to turn your ass red right now.”

A wave of heat rushes through me at those words, pooling low in my stomach, setting every nerve on fire—because I want that. I want him to spank me, to show me how much I get under his skin—I want him to admit that he wants me too.

God, this is so messed up .

But hell, I want to see how far I can push him.

So I spin around, bend over the arm of the couch, and push my ass out.

“Fine,” I say, my voice breathy. “Do it. Do whatever you want with me.”

Silence.

The kind that coils tight, charged, humming with restraint about to snap.

I can hear Gage’s breathing—sharp, uneven.

But then he takes a step toward me. Then another.

Finally, I feel his heat right behind me. His hand grazes over my ass—slow, testing, fingers pressing lightly into the curve.

A s oft moan of anticipation slips past my lips.

“Fucking hell, Hazel.”

“Touch me, Gage.”

I turn my head slightly, peeking at him over my shoulder, waiting for the sting, the sharp bite of his palm.

But it never comes.

Instead, he backs away from me, brushing a hand through his hair like he’s trying to physically rip himself out of this moment.

“Go to bed, Hazel,” he rasps, turning for the hall.

I whirl around, my pulse hammering. “You’re a coward, Gage Kingston!”

He huffs as he walks away. “Yeah, I am. If you only knew just how much…”

The sound of his bedroom door closing makes me sigh in defeat.

But if there’s one thing I learned tonight, it’s that Gage is holding himself back in more ways than one, and I have a feeling it’s just a matter of time before he snaps.

At this point though, it might just be me that snaps first.