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“Oliver, hey? When is Eden bringing you home to meet the family?”

Eden cuts me off before I can respond. “Is there a reason you called, Jake?”

“Just wanted to see how my favourite big sister is going.”

“I’m your only big sister.”

“Exactly. Anyway,” Jake drags out the last syllable. “I’ll let you two get back to…whatever you were doing on this lovely Sunday morning.” He winks, then hangs up. Eden looks like she could throw her phone against the wall.

“He seems nice,” I comment as Eden turns a lovely shade of red.

“I’ll kill him. Make sure you remember that.” She stabs her last piece of pancake and finishes it. “You know, they always say having younger siblings is fun. But when you have four of them, it’s pretty annoying.” Her phone buzzes, and she glances down at it before scowling. “He already told Mum. Snitch.”

“Is telling your Mum such a bad thing?” I’m not sure why I asked this question when I’m scared of the answer.

“I haven’t brought a boy home since high school. And even then, we only dated for a month. They’ve been on my back about getting out there but…”

“You’re too busy.”

She gives me a weak smile. “Yeah. Something like that.”

10

CHAPTER TEN

Eden.

After leaving Oliver’s after breakfast, I found myself hanging upside down on Gemma’s bed. It’s not my usual spot to mope, I’ll admit. But I needed her to talk me down from the ledge.

“Oh, come on. It’s not that bad. So what if you kissed him?”

“What if he hates me?”

“He made you pancakes. A man won’t make pancakes for a woman unless he likes her. It’s like…science or something.” Gemma sits at her desk, arms crossed. For once I’m interrupting her study, not the other way round. A book on Medieval ceramics lies discarded, Gemma’s pen hovering above her notebook. I’m impressed that she can study while I’m nursing a rotten hangover.

“But Gemma,” I whinge. Just thinking about Oliver makes my intestines twist, even tighter than the leftover alcohol in my system does.

“But Eden,” she responds, matching my tone. “You have a study session soon, right? Check his vibes then.”

Our next session is the thing I’m most worried about. Do I bring it up? Do I not mention it? Do I—

“You good?”

“No,” I mumble as I bury my head in her pillow. It even smells like her.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I threw up on Misty last night.”

I gasp and look up, squinting against the bright light. “You didn’t”

“I did!” Gemma laughs. “I don’t think she’s going to talk to me again any time soon.”

I fiddle with my glasses, knowing full well I’m going to have to tell Gemma eventually. “Jake called this morning.”

“Mhmm,” she responds, trying to read the textbook.

“And he knows about Oliver.”

“What?” That gets her attention.