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PROLOGUE
SUMMER
AGED 16
“Come on,Layla. For fuck’s sake! There’s no need to be like that.”
Caden’s low chuckle at Archer’s antics draws my attention from the grassy meadow around us to his handsome face. The back of his hand brushes off mine as our gazes connect, mirth dancing in his light blue eyes, and my heart skips several beats.
This boy will be the ruination of me.
His smile broadens as though he’s heard my thoughts, and I’m helpless to stop my mouth from raising up in an answering grin.
My eyes dart forward to find Archer and Layla still engrossed in whatever argument they’re currently embroiled in, and I heave a small sigh of relief.
Placing my forefinger over my lips, I shush him ever so quietly. Caden rolls his eyes good-naturedly before glancing around quickly, and before I know what he’s about, he’s closed the gap between us to press a butterfly kiss to my mouth.
With eyes blown wide, I all but jump back, aware that if anyone suspects something untoward between us, it could spell disaster.
I’ve been a ward of Sutton North—Caden and Archer’s father and my own father’s childhood best friend—since my parents died in a car accident when I was eight years old.
Falling in love with Caden North happened long before I could do anything to stop it. It’s like our souls were fated to be one long before either of us came into being.
I move; he moves, bound by an invisible string. My only wish is to be old enough so we can tell everyone how we truly feel instead of keeping everything behind closed doors, under lock and key, as though our love is a dirty little secret.
“Love you.”
He mouths the words silently, intensity flaring within those baby blues, making them darken slightly. I press my lips together as my nostrils flare when I inhale deeply, trying and failing to stifle the butterflies that burst to life within my stomach.
“Ditto,idiot.”
My response results in a loud, attention-grabbing bellow of laughter—signature Caden all the way—stilling the footsteps of the arguing couple walking not ten feet ahead of us.
Layla, my troubled best friend, and Archer, Caden’s identical twin, turn to face us as though in synchronicity, the mismatched looks on their faces making the boy beside me laugh even harder, much to his brother’s annoyance.
Archer slides his gaze to mine, his similar blue eyes darkening and narrowing slightly. My brow creases in confusion, but in half a heartbeat, he’s smiling once more, making me think I imagined the change in his demeanour.
“What are you two up to that’s so funny?”
Caden closes the gap and playfully shoves his brother further along the path. “None of your business, asshat. The more pressing question is, what’s got Layla’s knickers in a knot?”
Archer smirks when Layla crosses her arms over her chest, looking from one brother to the other before reaching out and grabbing my arm, linking it with hers. A scowl mars her stunning features as she tosses her waist-length black hair over her free shoulder.
“Come on, Summer. I fancy a swim without these two wankers souring my mood even further.”
I shake my head, allowing her to pull me along as we widen our strides to put as much distance as possible between the North brothers and us.
When they’re out of hearing distance, I whisper, “What’s going on with you two, Lay?”
“Nothing.”
The single word is spat with enough venom that I don’t try to push her any further. Her body is bristling with such rage, and it unsettles me despite being best friends with this girl for close to a decade now.
Layla’s dad, Cole Gardiner, was the lead vocalist for Jupiter’s Fallen, Sutton’s band back in the eighties. Cole, from all accounts, had spiralled into drug addiction, eventually overdosing when we were only twelve.
Her mother was there, but not. Present, but wholly vacant, and so Layla became like a sister to me, sharing my room at the North house almost every night—when she wasn’t with Archer, obviously.
We continue in awkward silence until we reach the thicket of trees bracketing the river that runs parallel to the back of the North family home.
