Page 119 of These Wicked Hearts

He laughs. “Atlas loves hard, and once he decides someone matters to him, that’s it.” Felix shrugs.

Something twists low in my stomach. I know exactly what he means.

“What about you, Gage? You care about him?”

My eyes lift to him.

“I mean, we’ve been hanging out for a couple of months.”

“That’s not what I asked.” Before I can answer, tires crunch over gravel outside. Thank fuck. Both of us glance to the windows, and Felix smiles. “Saved by our men.”

I almost correct him, but then a car door slams outside and voices drift through the door. A second later it opens. Grey walks in first, carrying a couple of grocery bags in both hands, while Atlas follows behind him with another bag tucked against his chest.

Atlas looks cold, his cheeks pink from the winter air and hair messy from the wind. His eyes find mine immediately and brighten, sending little pulses of heat through my stomach.

“Hey,” he says softly.

“Hey.”

Grey kicks the door shut behind them. “Sorry, grocery store was insane.” He walks over to Felix and plants a kiss on his lips. Atlas moves toward me while Grey and Felix unpack groceries.

“You okay?” Atlas asks quietly.

“Yeah.”

“You sure?”

“You were gone for like forty minutes. I can survive without you just fine.”

He snorts. “Debatable.”

Grey pulls things from the bags. “Okay, important question. Is vegan cheese as good as the other cheese, or is Atlas lying to me?”

I blink up at Atlas. “You bought vegan cheese?”

Atlas shrugs as if I’m being silly. “You have to eat, right?”

Something warm settles heavily in my stomach. Felix digs through another bag. “Vegan burgers too?”

“And mayo. So many things I never considered have animal products in them.” He smiles down at me, but I can’t stop the rush of heat that’s flowing through me. Grey tosses a can of soda to Atlas, who catches it instantly.

“You two staying a couple of nights?” Felix asks.

Atlas looks toward Grey. “If that’s alright.”

Grey gestures around the house. “That’s literally why we bought this place. Plenty of room for my asshole friends.”

“Dick.”

Felix nudges him with his hip. “Tell him the real reason we bought this house.”

Grey sighs heavily, but I catch the glint of amusement in his eyes as he turns his attention to Felix. “Because someone wanted their dream kitchen and I love to spoil you.” He kisses him.

“I was going to say the giant fire pit in the back yard, but sure, my kitchen.” Felix’s cheeks pinken slightly. “Although you know I like cooking.”

“And I love eating.” Grey smiles quickly. “He actually started a cooking channel.”

Felix groans. “It’s not a channel. I just started sharing recipes on ReelDreams. I’ve got a little bit of a following.”