Page 91 of Glitched Play

Not claiming.

Just there.

“It’s okay,” he says quietly.

The words are so soft I’m not sure anyone else hears them.

But I do.

I feel them everywhere.

Parker whistles.

Birdie gasps.

Noelle says, “Oh, I like her.”

Witt immediately releases me.

I step back, face hot, heart hotter.

“Good game,” I say, because apparently that is the best my brain can do.

He looks at the screen, then at me. “Rematch.”

I grin. “Anytime.”

Across the room, Paulina appears beside Sutton, holding a slice of cake and looking younger than she did at the gala. Her gaze finds me.

“Hey, Maci. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too.”

“Is Tyler coming around again sometime?”

Every nearby adult goes quiet in the most obvious way possible.

Subtlety is not an O’Ryan family trait.

I smile. “Probably. He’s been texting me all day asking if it would be weird to come to the launch event.”

Paulina looks down at her cake. “It wouldn’t be weird.”

Greyson’s head snaps up from across the room. Sutton puts a hand on his arm without even looking.

Parker mutters, “Oh, this is fantastic.”

Greyson points at him. “Don’t.”

Parker holds up both hands. “I said nothing.”

“You thought loudly.”

Witt, standing beside me, says, “Family trait.”

I laugh, and the sound feels easy. Too easy.

A few minutes later, conversation shifts toward the adults. Someone teases Greyson about needing a hobby now that Paulina is older. Birdie says, “Your dad needs to date.”