Page 50 of Heart Breaker

Scout suddenly lunges toward a seagull, yanking me hard enough that coffee from my cup sloshes onto my hand. “Absolutely not,” I mutter, tightening my grip on the leash. “Unless you’d like to lose off-leash privileges for the rest of your life.”

“He knows you’re bluffing. That dog literally sleeps in your bed with you. Nobody’s buying the tough guy act.”

I glance up to find Jesse leaning against the railing ahead, Noah beside him. Scout immediately forgets I exist and barrels toward them. Noah crouches down, scratching behind the dog’s ears while the big fur-ball practically folds himself in half with happiness.

“You look rough,” Jesse says as I stop beside them.

“I’m hungover as shit.”

His expression immediately lights up. “This should be good. I’m glad you called us.”

“It’s not good.”

“If you’re hungover, that means you’ve probably got a good story.”

I roll my eyes before dragging a hand over the back of my neck. My body’s tired in that heavy, sluggish way that comes from too much wine and not enough sleep, but underneath it, there’s something else buzzing around inside me too.

“How’s the Misses?” Noah asks, one eyebrow raised.

“Suffering. She invented something called midnight therapy wine and now we’re both paying the price for it this morning.”

Jesse bursts out laughing. “That sounds like your worst nightmare.”

“It kind of was.”

Jesse’s grin widens. “Details, please.”

I lean against the railing beside them, staring out toward the water while Scout sprawls across Noah’s shoes demanding attention. “We drank too much. Started talking about family stuff. Her dad is pretty sick and the two of them are close.”

Noah’s expression shifts to concern, understanding flickering in his eyes immediately. Out of all of us, Noah’s always been the most sensitive, always picking up on everyone’s feelings.

“And?” Jesse presses.

“And…she ended up sleeping in my bed.”

Jesse slowly lowers his coffee. “Wesley.”

“We didn’t have sex.”

“That’s not the important part.”

I look over at him. “Feels like a pretty important part to me.”

“No,” Jesse says patiently, like I’m stupid. “The important part is you sound like a guy who’s already emotionally attached.”

“I’m not emotionally attached.”

Both of them just stare at me. Noah gives me an assessing look. “You left the house to clear your head.”

I don’t answer, because I know what he’s getting at. Jesse notices immediately, grinning like a psychopath. “Oh my God, four weeks in and you’re already spiralling.”

“I’m not spiralling.”

“You made her breakfast this morning, didn’t you?”

My eyes narrow. “How the hell do you know that?”

“You’ve got that look, man. It’s the one Ford gets around Landyn, where he acts like taking care of her is the reason he gets up in the morning.”