“Maybe you’re blowing this a little out of proportion.” Knox, I’d guess. Maybe Miles.
The two brothers have similar tones.
“I’m not. Look.”
I really wish I knew what he was showinghimand notme. Especially if I’m the one with a stalker? Really? It’s ridiculous.
I stride into the kitchen. “The only one stalking me is you,” I inform him.
Grey’s gaze lands on me. He meets my eyes, then sweeps down my body. Back up.
Miles leans on the kitchen counter, arms crossed. His attention bounces between the two of us. “Kissed and made up, then?”
I smile tightly and don’t answer.
“Yep,” Grey says. “Can you give us a minute?”
Miles rolls his eyes. He grabs the mug that sat next to his elbow and shuffles out of the room. I step aside to let him pass, still feeling that weird,offsensation. It’s not him, but it’s… maybe it’s being here. In this house.
“A stalker?” I question.
He comes to me and takes my hands, easily pulling me into him. My arms automatically wrap around his waist, and he hugs me tightly. I rest my head on his chest. His heart is going crazy, but outwardly he seems calm. His lips touch the top of my head.
“I’ve realized something,” he says in my hair.
“Please, do share.”
“We’re on the same side.”
Oh.
Oh.
I pull back and meet his gaze again. He seems one hundred percent serious, and I… I don’t know what to do with that. He justdecidedthat we’re on the same side? After the last few months of hell…
“Vi, listen.” He walks me over to the counter and lifts me so I’m sitting on it. He pours me a cup of coffee and adds a pretty decent amount of hazelnut creamer from the fridge. Just the way I like it. When he brings it back and curls my fingers around the mug, he just smiles. “I pay attention.”
“And that’s how you’ve deduced that I have a stalker who isn’t you.”
“Yep.” He inclines his chin. “But let’s be honest with each other. For real.”
I swallow at the lump in my throat. “Okay,” I whisper.
“I’m going to tell my father to fuck off the first chance I get.” His palms land on my thighs, spreading them to step even closer. “I’ll take care of the therapy. It’s… it’s the least I can do for you.”
My eyes are fucking burning. I set aside the coffee and grip his neck with both hands. I don’t know how to convey my gratitude… and shame that he has to offer in the first place.
“You’re going to tell me everything that happened around the accident,” he says. “The hospital, who visited you, the doctors—all of it.”
And then he’ll know about his father coming and forcing me to sign the NDA. It was right after that article came out. I wanted to sue the Devereuxes for personal injury, since Greyson was allowed to walk away so easily. Instead, I was threatened with a countersuit for defamation.
The senator would’ve wanted a whole lot more money than my mom or I had. It could’ve bankrupted us. But instead, he offered me a nice little deal… sign an NDA, drop the suit, and everyone will go their separate ways.
Needless to say, I dropped it and signed the nondisclosure agreement.
Grey knows I signed one, obviously. He’s held that over my head since I got to school. But does he realize how far his father went?
He’s tracing a pattern on my leg, and I realize I haven’t given him an answer. I should tell him to clear the air. I should just tell him in general, even if he already knows.