Page 94 of Three Pucking Ex's Brothers

No, I would’veheardthat. Someone would have heard that…

“Who else has been here today?” I ask carefully.

Abby smirks at me. “Tommy.”

Tommy?

Abby smugly bounces on her heels. “Mhmm. Caught them sucking each other’s face when I came in this morning. Gotta say, Ineversaw that one coming. You…yeah. I could see that a mile away, but?—”

“What are you talking about?” I ask, taking a step closer to Abby as jealousy stings my chest.

Tommy and Nora…kissed?

What the fuck?

I think back to this morning, to his excitement. The girl he was all flustered over…is Nora? Since when did Tommy?—

And then Abby’s words fall on me. She could seemea mile away…

“I mean, you’re Rush Sterling. You aren’t exactly covert.”

I cross my arms. “And just what is that supposed to mean?” I ask.

“Nothing. I’m just letting you know you’ve got some competition, that’s all.” She grins. “So you may want to step up your game.”

A chime sounds on her phone, and she chuckles. “Would you look at that? Nora says she can be back here in twenty.” She smiles at me. “Too bad the shop closes in twenty minutes…”

I growl, my fists balling at my sides, and Abby laughs. She justlaughslike it’s funny.

“Although, I’m sure Nora is perfectly capable of locking up on her own,” she says, and my mouth falls open.

Abby played me. And too well, I might add. Because I fell into that too easily.

Seems Nora Brighton is my weakness in more ways than one.

Krystal heads for the coat rack, flashing a knowing smile. “Nice to meet you,” she says.

I nod. “Likewise.”

When she leaves, it’s just Abby and me.

The air between us is thick with tension.

“What are your intentions with my best friend, Rush? Because if this is just some hookup thing for you?—”

“It’s not,” I say defensively. Abby doesn’t beat around the bush, and that’s something I have to respect. Just like I know she’s not acting this way because she has a problem with me, she’s doing it because she cares about her friend. About Nora.

And that is something I respect the hell out of. Because I also care about Nora.

And I would be the same way if the situation were reversed.

I think about her question. Whataremy intentions?

I know how I feel about Nora. How she makes me feel like everything is different and new and how she shakes up my world. She has since the moment I saw her, and so I kept those feelings close to the chest and took it out on the ice. But no one other than Freddie has ever known how I felt, so no one has ever asked me.

“I just want to talk to her, Abby. Talking isn’t a crime.”

Abby sighs, looking me up and down. “No, it’s not, but I think we both know you don’t just want totalk,Rush.”