Addicted After All(154)

I LOVE RYKE MEADOWS is upside down.

I catch a few people snapping photos with their camera phones. That was expected.

“Your name is on her ass,” I state blankly.

“I’m so f*cking in love with her,” is all he says. And I believe every word.

When she drops her feet, she takes a small bow, and a couple guys clap. Probably for showing her ass. I shoot them a look, but that doesn’t stop them from ogling Daisy. It irritates me, but that feeling vanishes the moment Daisy locks eyes with my brother.

The moment she runs straight out of the ballroom with the biggest, brightest smile. She’s a ball of light that Ryke is going to catch up to. I can see it in his eyes.

And he’s off behind her.

I head to the window that overlooks the street, and I feel a presence slide next to me. Chocolate banana in hand, Lily presses her nose close to the glass. “What are we looking at?”

“Your sister, my brother,” I tell her.

I wait for them to exit onto the street. It’s something Daisy would do. And maybe three minutes pass before a platinum-blonde girl sprints out of the hotel and into the parking lot. She removes her shirt and her skirt as she races forward. We’re only on the third floor, so I make out her overpowering smile.

It’s like watching someone break free.

And my brother—he runs after her. I know everyone thinks he chased Daisy to stop her. They were nodding in approval about it as he left, but he’s not.

As soon as he falls in line with Daisy, he runs by her side.

“They’re going to last,” Lily says with a hopeful nod.

Yeah. They just might. I tear my attention off the window and onto her. She’s pulled out her cell and concentrates on typing. “What’re you doing, Lil?”

“Tweeting,” she says and then flashes me the screen: I’m Crazy for Raisy.

I mock wince and shield my eyes. “Christ, Lil, you blinded me with Team Raisin.”

“Raisy,” she corrects me with squinted eyes. She’s so f*cking adorable.

“Raisin.” I drop my hand and draw her body to mine. “It’s my favorite ship name. Let it be.”

Her jaw unhinges. “Your favorite—” I cover her mouth.

“Not my top favorite.” And my lips brush her ear. I can’t stop smiling. Not anymore. “My absolutely, without a doubt, favorite…” I pause with a breath. “…is ours.” Then I kiss her.

I kiss her like I need her soul tangled with mine.

She kisses back like it’s happened already for years.

I almost forget about the last couple of steps I have to take with Hale Co. I almost forget about someday soon needing to beat my brother. But the unwritten future still lingers in the back of my mind.





{ 51 }

LILY CALLOWAY



“You did what?” Lo gapes at Connor, and my eyes threaten to pop out of my head.

We’re surrounded by bottles of Ziff, stacked in pyramids on tables. September gusts of wind threaten to knock them over, but many Fizzle employees stand guard. A one-hundred-and-fifty-foot, terrifyingly tall cliff towers behind us: all gray rock and green foliage. Ryke stands at the base with Daisy and my dad before the media and public appear to kick-start the Ziff event.

However, my attention remains strictly on Connor, who cradles Jane while she naps. It’s not his daughter that’s alarmed me either. It’s the words he just uttered.

“Whaa…” I actually begin to say aloud.

“I know,” Rose says, crossing her arms. “I already yelled at him for not bringing me along.” She purses her lips like that’s his greatest offense.

No. That’s beside the point.

“Next time, I’ll tag you in, darling.” Connor uses his free hand to comb Rose’s hair onto one shoulder, and then he kisses her bare neck lightly. It’s a regal, effortless kiss that has Rose almost flushing.

“Good.” She raises her chin.

My mouth is on the floor. Or rather, the earthy ground. Are Lo and I the sane, mature ones here? The world is really upside-down.

“You’re both officially insane,” Lo beats me to that comment. “We agreed not to confront the teenagers or their parents.”

Connor’s brows pinch in this conceited fashion. “By history alone, I’m the most qualified to reason with their parents.”

“We should’ve talked about it,” Lo snaps. “This affects everyone, Connor.”