Page 37 of Don't Think

I give her a little half smile and shrug. “Force of habit.”

She leans in, her voice softer now. “I know. But this isn’t one of Trevor’s shindigs. You don’t have to play hostess right now.”

The guys get up from where they were camped out on the floor and wander over to the tray.

James tosses a grape into the air and catches it in his mouth. “Thanks, Allie. You really didn’t have to do all this,” he says, gesturing to the spread.

An elbow jabs into my side—hard.

“Yeah,Allie,you didn’t have to do that,” Ana parrots through clenched teeth, batting her lashes.

I finally let myself sink back into the couch, and my shoulders drop while I take the first deep breath I’ve had in hours.

She’s right. Iknowshe is. It’s just… hard to shake the habit when you’ve been running on autopilot for so long.

My eyes drift across the room until they land on Jax just in time to catch him biting into a piece of watermelon. He swipes his thumb across his bottom lip, collecting a drop of juice before he sticks it into his mouth, sucking it clean.

It’s such a small, innocent gesture, yet I’m completely frozen.

He walks over to the couch, glances at me for half a second, and gives this soft, closed-mouth smile that instantly relaxes me. But then he drops into the only open spot left. Right next to me.

His thigh brushes mine, just barely, but I still feel it like an electrical shock. And every nerve in my body ignites.

The room suddenly feels too loud.The fan spinning. People talking. His presence.Him.

“Sorry I got pulled away like that earlier,” he says quietly, voice low and a little raspy. “James is kind of our golden retriever. He gets excited about, well… everything.”

I smile, trying to pretend like my heart isn’t actively malfunctioning. “Sounds like he just has a really great outlook on life.”

He grins and shifts a little closer, his thigh now flush against mine.

Not that I’m focused on that. Nope. Totally fine. My breathing? Completely normal. We’re good over here.

“So,” Nora cuts in. “When are you guys heading into the studio?”

I glance over—andwow.She’s sittingclose.Practically in Gareth’s lap, tucked into his side like they’ve known each other for years. He sure doesn’t seem to mind though.

At least one of us is bold enough to show interest without mentally blacking out every five seconds.

Gareth chuckles softly before turning toward her. “Beginning of August, so roughly a month. We were supposed to start in January, but some… personal stuff came up.”

His eyes flick to Jax, it’s barely noticeable, but I catch it. And suddenly my curiosity israging. I know it’s absolutely none of my business, but I can’t help but still feel the urge to know.

“What are you guys doing in the meantime?” Ana asks, leaning forward like she’s seconds away from helping them build an itinerary.

And shebetterfreaking not.

Gareth shrugs. “We haven’t really decided yet—”

“I want to go to the aquarium,” James says, cutting him off while bouncing in his seat.

There it is. Golden retriever energyfullyconfirmed.

But before anyone can jump on that, a low rumble shakes through the house. It stretches on for a few seconds, like it’s dragging across the sky. It’s gone as quickly as it came, but it’s enough to confirm what the forecast said about a storm coming.

Up north, the weather system is a joke. If they call for thunderstorms, it usually means sunshine. If they promise a beautiful day? Well, then you’d better pack a poncho or cancel your plans. It’s a total guessing game.

But down here? They actually seem to get it right.