Page 10 of Wish You Were Mine (Kings of Eden Falls #3)

“In college. Just a girl I was hung up on.” Miles shrugged. “But don’t worry, karma kicked in real quick. Just when I was thinking she might be feeling the same thing as me, she pushed me away and told me it could never happen again. And then stopped hanging out with me for a couple of months. ”

“Dang,” Bash said. And then, not so discreetly, took a sip of his own drink as well.

“Wait,” Alessi asked, her jaw dropping. “You too?”

“It was in high school,” Bash said. “And to be fair, I didn’t know she had a boyfriend until after he punched me in the face.”

Alessi chuckled. “Well, I guess that’s okay. But Miles…” She tsked. “You should have known better.”

He rolled his eyes and said, “Oh believe me, I know.” It looked like he wanted to say more but seemed to have second thoughts.

Instead, he skipped Alessi, Bash, and Ky’s turns and said, “Never have I ever had a one-night stand.” Then glancing across from him, he added under his breath, “Despite what the tabloids have been saying.”

Miles had taken some heat from the entertainment news reel this past June when he’d been visiting Alessi on Ky’s European tour in Vienna, only to be spotted going into a hotel with a mysterious blonde.

No one had gotten a look at the girl’s face, and he’d never addressed the rumors, so the chatter had died down a few weeks later.

But this past month, it all came up again when a girl on social media, looking for a minute in the spotlight, told her followers in a live video that she was the girl he’d been spotted with in June and claimed that they’d hooked up that night, stating: Miles Hawthorne is just as impressive off the field as he is on.

Yeah…I did not envy my friends who had to deal with the drama that came from their fame. No, thank you . Living a quiet life as a chemistry professor and weekend bartender was definitely more my speed.

But, at Miles’s statement, curiosity rippled through the group as everyone wondered if anyone among us had their own one-night stands to confess .

And when everyone looked at Ky, expecting him to take a drink, given the number of groupies he had, he just held his hands up, saying, “Hey, believe it or not, I’ve been a good boy.”

“That’s impressive,” I said, holding my cup toward Ky to cheer him.

“Why, thank you,” Ky said, giving a little bow.

“Well, look at us,” Bash said, a proud, fatherly smile on his face. “Just a bunch of wholesome folks.”

“Only because Ian’s not here.” I chuckled, thinking of my best friend as I shot a glance around the hot tub, the steamy water swirling around us.

“But look at him now,” Alessi said. “Apparently, even our favorite billionaire playboy can change his ways for the right girl.”

“To Ian,” I said, holding my cup for another toast.

“Yes,” Bash said. “May we all be as lucky as him one day.”

We all clinked our cups together, taking a drink in his honor.

It was a little strange not having him here tonight. Ian and I had been inseparable since we were kids, running wild through the neighborhood together. But now, with him engaged to Maddie and stepping into fatherhood with her nine-year-old son, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being left behind.

He had exactly what I wanted: a beautiful woman to share his life with and an instant family.

And as much as Ian and his parents had included me in all their family gatherings after my own had fallen apart, it still wasn’t the same as actually being part of a real family.

I still had my younger brother, Asher. But he was living in New York with his wife, and that didn’t leave much room for the family moments I craved.

So with Ian all domesticated and spending most of his free time with his future family, just having a girlfriend to share my weekends with would feel like hitting the jackpot.

We kept the game going, everyone shouting out their “Never Have I Evers” in a rush rather than taking turns.

When it was Lucy’s turn, she scanned the group before saying, “Never have I ever had a secret crush on a friend’s sibling.”

Was she trying to play detective, seeing if any of us guys had ever secretly crushed on Nora? I knew Miles had been flirting with her all night, but I didn’t think that counted as a crush.

But instead of any of the guys taking a sip, it was Nora who glared at Lucy before taking a drink of her own.

“I knew it,” Lucy said, laughing.

Nora shot her a look. “You keep targeting me with your Never Have I Evers, and I might have to reconsider your best-friend status.”

“Because you want to be my sister instead?” Lucy said, the cutest guilty smile lighting up her whole face.

“Ugh, you’re the worst, you know that?” Nora covered her eyes with her hands, smiling despite herself.

“The worst and the best.” Lucy chuckled, not looking sorry at all for revealing one of her friend’s secrets.

“Whatever.” Nora rolled her eyes. Then looking at everyone else in the hot tub, she held out a finger and said, “And none of you better tell her brother about this, okay? I just think he’s cute and a good guy. Not anything serious.”

“Who’s your brother?” I leaned closer to Lucy since apparently, I was the only person here who didn’t know. “Anyone I know?”

“Oh, it’s Th—” Lucy started to say before Nora clamped her hand over Lucy’s mouth, stopping her .

But before Lucy could break away from Nora’s grip, Bash interrupted the temporary chaos by loudly asking, “Do stepsiblings count?” while looking between Miles and Alessi.

“Of course.” Miles smirked, looking unfazed. “So you better drink up, buddy.”

“The crush was in the past…” Bash turned to Alessi, his expression suddenly more serious. But with a hopeful look, he quickly added, “Unless you want it to be in the present, too?”

Alessi chuckled, shaking her head. “I guess we’ll see where the night takes us, won’t we?”

“I guess we will.” Bash took a sip with a wink, clearly hoping his plans for a midnight kiss with his ex were still on track.

“Speaking of crushes,” Nora said, bringing everyone’s attention away from Bash and Alessi and the possibility of them reigniting their spark tonight. “Never have I ever had a crush on someone I know I shouldn’t.”

The group went immediately silent, only the steady hum of the hot tub’s bubbling jets filling the air. And as I scanned the faces of my friends, there was a sudden heaviness on many of them.

Everyone was single, as far as I knew—my question over Lucy’s status with the hockey player aside. But were there some forbidden crushes alive and well among us?

I remembered the short fling I’d had with Sloan, a colleague from when I’d been teaching at the boarding school before I got my job at the university. We’d done our best to keep it under wraps, sneaking around so the staff and students wouldn’t discover our relationship.

But while the sneaking around had made it feel forbidden, looking back, it probably hadn’t been that forbidden at all, as there were no rules against teachers dating each other .

And since I couldn’t think of any other forbidden crushes, I just sat back, waiting to see if anyone else would fess up.

Did Lucy have any forbidden crushes?

But when I looked at her, she seemed to be watching everyone with the same curiosity I felt.

Then finally, after a long, heavy sigh, Ky took a sip.

“It’s that girl Rachel, right?” Nora asked, looking at him knowingly.

“Yep,” Ky said, emphasizing the “p” sound at the end like he wasn’t interested in discussing it further.

Then, at the edges of my vision, I noticed Alessi and Miles both take a sip, their expressions suddenly solemn.

What?

I glanced at Miles, expecting him to make a joke like the ones he’d been making all night. But there was no humor in his dark eyes now.

Who had been his forbidden crush? Was it the girl he’d mentioned kissing earlier? The one who had a boyfriend?

Because that would fit this question.

But that happened in college, and he graduated four years ago. So if he was acting like this right now, this forbidden crush of his had to be more recent than that, right?

“Well, that got heavy real quick…” Ky muttered, glancing at Nora. “So thanks for that, sis.”

“You’re welcome,” Nora said, seeming to feel a bit awkward for asking a question that probably turned out way more serious than she’d expected.

“Anyway,” Ky said, making a smile lift his lips after whatever memories he’d just been reliving. “Speaking of sisters, I think it’s about time I admitted that never have I ever chewed all the fingers off my baby dolls when I was younger.”

“Are you serious?” Nora gasped, her jaw dropping as she glared at her brother .

“Pretty sure I am,” Ky said with a playful smirk, clearly enjoying the sudden discomfort he’d caused.

“Okay,” Nora said with a shrug. “But just remember that two can play this game, bro.”

“It’s all in good fun, right?” Ky laughed, unbothered.

“Whatever you say,” she muttered, shaking her head before taking a sip of her drink.

Then, not missing a beat, Nora said, “Okay, I’ve got one,” her eyes gleaming with mischief. “Never have I ever painted my bedroom walls with poop.”

Lucy gasped, half-laughing, half-horrified. “Man, I would hope not.”

“That’s a very specific thing to say,” I teased.

Nora smirked, her eyes locking in on Ky. “I think you forgot to take a drink.”

Ky looked at her, narrowing his eyes, but he complied, taking a sip and muttering, “Not cool.”

“I mean,” Nora said, “I could always tell them about the time I walked in your room one night and found you?—”

“Okay, okay, we’ll call a truce,” Ky cut her off quickly, hands raised in surrender. “And in case you’re wondering, I was two and got very creative during naptime, all right? I promise it hasn’t happened since then.”

I couldn’t help but smile at the playful exchange. Gotta love it when siblings hang out in the same friend group.

Is this what it would have been like if Callie, Asher, and I had gotten to hang out as adults? Would we have enjoyed spilling each other’s secrets all for everyone’s entertainment?

A sharp pang of grief hit my chest. How old would Callie be today?

She’d been just twelve when she died, so…twenty-two? Almost twenty-three ?

Close to Nora and Lucy’s age. Probably just finishing up college or getting her first real job.

“So…” Nora turned to look at her brother, raising a sculpted eyebrow. “Maybe we’ll let some of our sibling secrets stay secret?”

“I guess.” Ky rolled his eyes. “For now…”