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“No. Stay here and rest.” Hurt flicks across her face, because it’s Harlow, but she covers it quickly, also because she’s Harlow.
“I don’t mind,” she says.
“Imind.” This time, her brows crease at his insistence, and his shoulders lower as he reaches over to squeeze her thigh. “Harlow, I’m not saying it because I don’t want you to come. I’m saying it because you’re going to burn yourself out trying to be everything for everyone. Stay here with Sawyer, get cozy on the couch while he orders you double carbs, and I’ll be back soon. Okay?”
I climb out and open her door for her, then, with my arm slung around her shoulder, we stand and watch him pull away from the sidewalk and drive off.
“He’s right,” I mumble against her hair. “You’re doing too much.”
She tilts her head to look up at me. “It’s not too much.”
“I think your body and everyone else disagrees.” She turns toward me, and I rest my hands on her hips.
“You’re doing this for me, the least I can do is be by your side.”
“Angel, you don’t owe us anything.” I hate that she thinks she does, but it seems impossible to get her to believe it.
“I owe you everything,” she says softly as she wraps her arms around my neck. “For way more than just The Games.”
“Lucky youareeverything to me, then, isn’t it?” She grins and squeezes me tighter, and I drop a light kiss on her lips. “Let’s get inside. Sofa and double carbs? Ezra will kick my ass if he comes back and you’re not resting.”
The food hasn’t even arrived, Harlow tucked against my front, when the front door flies open. She jumps against me, and I sit up reflexively, frowning in relief at Nico making his way over to us.
“What the hell, dude? You scared the shit out of her.”
He does at least have the grace to look regretful.
“Sorry, I was in a rush. They told me you collapsed, and you’re not answering your phones.”
“I didn’t collapse,” Harlow grumbles. “I went a bit lightheaded, but I’m fine now.”
“Are you sure?” he asks, kneeling in front of her.
“Yes!” She hates being made a fuss of in general, so I’m not surprised she’s antsy after having everyone crowding her and now us all fussing. “Can we talk about something else now?”
“Like what?” Nico asks as he sits in the armchair, leaving the sofa for Harlow to be laid out on, but she sits up properly anyway, getting comfortable against the corner. I didn’t think she had a specific topic in mind, but apparently, she does.
“The Games are approaching rapidly. Tell us about the details; everything we might need to know.” He inhales, then exhales deeply, crossing his ankle over his knee.
“How much do you know?”
“Only about the tasks, really. Obviously, you were teaching me that, and we’ve learned more about specific rounds they have used before in our sessions, but what’s the overall process like?”
The door opens behind us, and Ezra appears, closing it behind him before joining us.
“Everything okay?” he asks, coming up behind Harlow and dropping an upside-down kiss to her lips when she looks up at him.
“Yeah. Nico’s gonna explain Games week to us.”
He nods, taking a seat next to me.
“Well, you know it’s a week,” he starts. “They’re held on the outskirts of the city, and the leaders stay on location for the whole week. There’s an opening ceremony—mainly for the theatrics—but all participants go. You can enter whoever you want for each round, so participants come and go, and most crews throw as many in each challenge as possible. They have the five rounds—one a day, but two on the last day before the closing ceremony. And that’s it.”
“You make it sound so simple,” Harlow says.
“It will be for you,” Nico tells her. “You’ll barely even leave the hotel room. Once we’re there, your job is essentially done. My father wanted you in this to keep my focus, to have something for me to work for. When we get to The Games, you’ve done that.”
“I want to do so much more.”
