Page 101 of Heartless As Puck

“Hell yeah.” I patted her bottom and went over to start the water heating up.

We showered quickly, without much in the way of wandering hands, but after we’d dried ourselves and gotten dressed again, Jane pulled me into an embrace and rested her head over my heart for what felt like an eternity.

Honestly, I never wanted her to let go.

I hadn’t believed myself to be much of a hugger, but I’d never get enough of being close to her.

I took her hand as we left my room. We followed the hum of conversation back to the living room, where Alec had gotten comfortable on the chair that Jane had left.

“That was an awfully long ‘talk,’” Hazel teased, her eyes dropping to our linked hands and then lifting to my damp hair. Her smile widened.

“We had a lot to say,” Jane told her primly.

On the sofa, Pete and Delia exchanged knowing looks. I tugged at the collar of my shirt, trying to ignore my burning cheeks and the thought that they knew exactly what I’d been doing with their daughter.

Alec snorted. “All good then?”

I looked at Jane, praying some of the red had left my face. “I think so. Don’t you?”

She squeezed my hand. “We love each other, I’m not going anywhere, and we’re making this work.”

“Excellent.” Pete cleared his throat. He got up from the sofa and stood where he could partially face both Hazel and me. “Austin, we’ve enjoyed getting to know you and Hazel over the past few days. I don’t know exactly what the situation is with your parents—although it doesn’t sound great⁠—”

Delia scoffed. “That’s putting it lightly.”

“My point is,” he continued, his hands behind his back, “that for as long as you and Jane are together, you have a family in us.”

My legs became weak, and suddenly, I felt the need to sit down. I forced them to hold me up for a few minutes longer, struggling to draw in a breath through an airway that seemed too constricted to fuel a heart that felt like the Grinch’s—as if it had grown two sizes.

“Th-thank you, sir,” I choked out, embarrassed by the thickness of my voice. “That means a lot.”

Hazel launched herself off the chair and hugged him. “If we’re your family, then you’re ours too.”

He hugged her back. “That’s very sweet of you.” He raised his gaze to me. “And, Austin, none of that ‘sir’ business. Pete will do.”

I nodded. Jane moved closer to me, and I pulled her close and kissed her temple.

Alec slapped me on the back. “You’d better not expect me to let you win again next time we play, though, family or not.”

Turning toward him, I raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t ‘let us’ win this time. We beat you, fair and square.”

Alec smirked. “But did you?”

“Fucking yes,” I growled, knowing that he was just trying to wind me up but unable to stop myself from reacting anyway. “Even if you were nice enough to let me win, which you aren’t, the rest of your team would never go along with it.”

He grinned smugly. “Keep telling yourself that, Harris.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You can lie to me but not to yourself, Wright.”

“Boys,” Delia chided.

“How about a little side bet?” Pete suggested, smiling like a naughty kid. “You each put in a hundred.”

“On what?” Alec demanded.

Pete crossed his arms and rocked back on his heels. “Which team will do best this season.”

I looked at Alec and mentally ran through the game from earlier. It had been tight, but we’d already come such a long way this season. The Dragons weren’t as much of a mess as me, so they had less room to improve.