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“Ouch.”
Jewel slid her palms beneath her cheek. “How old are you?”
“Old enough to know that question isn’t a compliment.”
“It’s not an insult either.” She chuckled. “You seem young, but that beard… it adds a couple years.”
“How many?”
“Ten.”
“Ten?” He levitated off the bed and gawked at her. “That’s not a couple.”
“Maybe.” She giggled.
He smiled softly and settled back into the bed. “From this interrogation about my age, I’m assuming you don’t want to talk about it.”
“What?”
“The dream.”
Jewel went still.
“I guess I should call it a nightmare,” Finn said gently. “Was it Kross?”
“Yes.” Fragments of the dream paraded before her. She dug her fingers into the pillow that separated her and Finn, anchoring herself to reality while waves of nausea rolled in her gut.
“I was having a nightmare too.”
“You were?” Jewel glanced at him, intrigued.
Finn nodded. “It was about your friends. The feisty one, Carrie? She had me in a headlock and Jo was stuffing my face with lemon pie.”
“That was surprisingly vivid.” Jewel snorted.
“Imagine how horrifying it was for me.” He gave an exaggerated shudder. “I’ve never seen a pack of women more protective than them. How’d you all get so close?”
“I’m not really sure.”
Finn slanted her a disbelieving look.
“I mean it! I was so shy when we first met. The girls probably thought I was a mute. But Sky never gave up on me and they kind of just pulled me into their group.”
Kross felt a million miles away whenever she thought of Sky, Carrie and Jo. Her friends were all crazy and fun and charming. She could only ever hope to be like them.
“My friend, Nolan, he’s just like your crew.”
“Kind and loyal?”
“Loud and nosy.”
Jewel scrunched her nose. “I dare you to say that to their faces.”
“Are you kidding?” Finn snorted. “I don’t have a death wish.”
They laughed, the quiet chuckles rolling through the room like a calming wave.
“I’d like to meet Nolan,” Jewel mused eventually. “If he’s anything like you, he must be great.”
