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“You went during the day, right?” Chris asks, and I nod. “See, she’s smart. There are tons of students and other people around during that time. I’m sure it was fine. But just for the record, I would 100 percent risk getting robbed at gunpoint if it meant I could have these afterward,” he says, starting in on another.
I cover my mouth with a hand, drowning a chuckle. “I’ve never seen someone quite so enthusiastic about cupcakes before.”
“That’s because these are fucking amazing, and Edwardo over here,” he says with a jerk of his thumb in Jace’s direction, “has us on a strict diet of protein and vegetables.” He pulls a face.
“Edwardo?” Jace asks dryly.
“Yeah.” Chris shrugs. “You look like an Edward.”
I cross my arms over my chest, having fun with this. “You know, now that you say that, he does look like an Ed.”
Jace scoffs. “I don’t look like a fucking Ed or Edwardo or anything starting with E-D. And you can’t get jacked by eating junk all the time.”
If Jace and I had any kind of an amicable relationship, I’d be inclined to agree based on his chiseled physique. But we don’t. So, I stare at him like he’s an ogre.
“See?” Chris turns back to me, a thumb pointed over his shoulder at an angry Jace. “This one’s no fun. But just because he’s a dessert prude, doesn’t mean you need to be. You gotta try one, Brynn.”
“Oh, no. That’s okay,” I say, with a little shake of the head.
“No. I insist. If you’re going to work hard on something, then you should enjoy the fruits of your labor. Kinda like how Jace feels about his body and chicks, am I right?” He winks at Jace, and I wonder if he’s purposely trying to piss him off when hebrings the portion of his uneaten cupcake toward my lips and offers me a bite. “Come on. Just one,” he says, stepping closer.
Unsure of what to do, I hesitantly take a bite as he feeds me, acutely aware of Jace’s stony gaze boring a hole in the side of my face the entire time.
“Good, right?” Chris drawls, a seductive edge to his tone as he reaches out and brushes a bit of frosting off my lips.
“Stop fucking flirting with her,” Jace snaps.
Chris grins before he turns to face his roommate. “You’re just jealous she made me cupcakes and not you.”
“Why would I be jealous?” Jace asks, a hint of pink creeping into his cheeks.
Holy cow. Is that anger or a blush I see? Could Jace Taggart actually be blushing?
I stare wide-eyed as he continues, “I live here. They’re mine, too.”
“No.” Chris shakes his head. “No, they’re not. Brynn specifically stated they were mine for being so sweet and generous in sharing my apartment with a virtual stranger, remember?” He grins, and I’m positive now he’s goading him, which makes him my new best friend.
Jace scoffs like he doesn’t care, but his white-knuckled grip on the countertop behind him tells another story. “Brynn moving in wasmyidea.”
“But she’s like family to you, right, Taggart? Isn’t that what you said?”
He said that?My brows rise as I peer over at him in time to see his eyes harden to steel.
He shifts, either from the weight of my gaze or something else, but when he does, our eyes lock. I don’t know why this knowledge disappoints me, but it does.
I turn back to the counter, busying myself with cleaning up my mess.
It shouldn’t bother me. Hell, I’ve said the same thing about him. Over the years, he’s been like a second, more annoying brother.
But for some reason, hearing he’s referred to me in the same way hits different.
Or maybe it’s just the remnants from our kiss still messing with my head. Because the way he touched me, the way his mouth moved with mine was anything but brotherly.
I start wiping the counter, ignoring the scowl on Jace’s face and the muscle flickering in his jaw as Chris loudly licks frosting from his fingers. After downing another cupcake, Chris sighs and says, “Well, ladies, I’ll just take a few of these with me and be out of your way. I’m supposed to babysit my sister’s kids today,” he says with a grimace. “Might as well get hopped up on sugar now.” He piles several more cakes on a plate, then heads to his room, leaving me and Jace alone.
I swipe at the counter, furiously rubbing at a spot of dried frosting, acutely aware of Jace’s proximity to me.
A minute passes before he pushes off the counter and closes the distance, his body hovering just behind mine, so close I can feel him in the space between us as if he were pressed to my side. He leans down, his breath tickling my ear as he says, “Are they really just for him? I find it hard to believe, all things considered.”
