Chapter 56

Aria

My head was on a plush pillow when I awoke, the first rays of early morning sunlight spilling across my cheek. I yawned, rolling onto my back and stretching languidly. I didn’t recall my own mattress feeling so plush and luxurious. This was divine.

But then, slowly, I realized that was because I wasn’t in my own bed. I was in someone else’s. Darren’s, to be exact.

Suddenly, the memories of last night came rushing back like a freight train. Running around the apartment, laughing and shouting. The soft thwack of pillows, the sound of Lucas’s little giggles. A big, face-splitting smile across Darren’s face.

He looked so handsome when he smiled…

I opened my eyes fully, taking in the unfamiliar bedroom, and remembered how we had all collapsed on Darren’s bed, content to fall asleep right where we landed.

All three of us.

My heart started to pound. I didn’t belong here.

Careful not to make any noise, I lifted my head slightly. Lucas was sprawled out between us, one arm resting over Darren and one leg laying on top of me, his little face pressed into the pillow, his chestnut hair a tangled mess.

And then there was Darren—one hand resting near Lucas but close enough to my arm that I could feel the warmth radiating from him. He was shirtless, his chest rising and falling peacefully. When had he removed his shirt?

My face heated to an impossible degree, and I suddenly felt the urge to slip out quietly, before either of them woke up. With my heart thumping even harder than before, I slowly started to inch my way out from under the covers, gritting my teeth with the effort.

But then, before I could fully sit up, I felt a strong arm wrap around me and pull me back down.

“Five more minutes…” Darren mumbled, his voice groggy. His arm locked itself around my waist, tugging me close enough to sandwich Lucas between our bodies. Even half-asleep, he didn’t seem to want to let go.

My face went red as a beet as I froze in place, unsure of what to do or say. The feel of his arm around me was both comforting and… dangerous. Dangerous because I could easily get used to this. Should I wake him up? Try to untangle myself again? Lay here like this until the world collapsed in on itself?

Darren didn’t move for a few moments, still holding me, and I wondered if maybe he had fallen back asleep. I tried to shift gently, hoping to slide out without disturbing him, but his grip didn’t loosen.

Then, he blinked, his eyes opening slowly. The realization of what we were doing seemed to dawn on him as he looked at me—our faces barely a few inches apart. His eyes widened, and his arm quickly jerked back.

“Oh,” he muttered, sitting up abruptly and looking away. “I… I didn’t mean…”

I sat up, trying to play it cool despite the fact that his hair was adorably mussed from sleep, so much like Lucas’s. “It’s fine,” I whispered quickly, brushing a few stray strands of my own tangled hair from my face. “I was just… uh, heading to the office before anyone else gets there.”

He nodded, clearly just as flustered as I was although he was obviously trying to hide it, and cleared his throat. “Right… You should hurry.”

A glance at the clock told me that he was right; the first morning birds would be arriving at the office any minute now, and I couldn’t raise any suspicions.

I stood up, quickly making my way to the door to grab my clean clothes from the dryer. I hoped they weren’t wrinkled from sitting there all night.

But just as I was about to leave the room, my gaze drifted to that photo on the nightstand—the one that was face-down. The one of Darren and Lucas’s mother.

I still didn’t know what had happened to her, but the curiosity was starting to nag at me like a splinter.

Darren seemed to notice my hesitation, or at least, that was how it seemed—when I glanced at him, he was staring at me with an unreadable expression on his face. His mismatched eyes flicked to the picture frame, and his jaw tightened.

Fearing I had struck up a nerve, I managed a small smile and said, “I’ll see you later.”

And with that, I slipped out of the room. I felt his eyes on me until I closed the door.

By the time I reached the office, I thought I had made it without being noticed. After all, it was still early, and I was certain I’d be the first one there. But as I stepped out of the elevator, I found myself face-to-face with Lily, who was stirring her morning coffee around in her pink bunny mug and looking surprisingly alert for such an ungodly hour.

She blinked, then tilted her head, looking from me to the elevator doors behind me. “Hey… Did you come downstairs just now?” She paused, then glanced at my outfit. “In the same clothes as yesterday?”

I gave her a quick nod, trying to keep my expression neutral. “Uh, yeah. I just, uh… came in early to check on Lucas.” I tugged on my sleeve and added, “Last night was wash night. I guess I picked out the same outfit without realizing.”

God, I hope she can’t hear the pounding of my heart, I thought desperately as I smiled at her.

She squinted, her gaze shifting down again as if something else had caught her attention. I realized too late what she was staring at—I had missed a button on my shirt, and a sliver of that faint crescent mark on my collarbone was just barely visible through the gap.

My stomach dropped. I reached up, quickly buttoning it, but Lily’s eyes lingered. I couldn’t tell if she was more intrigued by the mark on my collarbone or the fact that I had come to work with a button undone.

“Clumsy morning,” I sighed with a half-hearted chuckle as I brushed past, just wanting to get away. “I didn’t get enough sleep last night.”

Lily raised her eyebrow, but thankfully, she didn’t press it further. I quickly made my way to my desk, my heart racing as I tried to shake off the encounter. I’d have to be more careful. Maybe nothing but turtlenecks from now on would be safer. And definitely no more sleepovers.

After that, though, there were no more incidents. Not for the rest of the morning, at least. Darren and the others arrived without a hitch, and if Lily still found my behavior suspicious, she didn’t show it.

But the universe was not so kind. A few hours into the day, as I was headed to the copier room to pick up some documents, I ran into Lily again.

“Oh, sorry!” I said, taking a step back just before I collided with her.

She tilted her head, her nose wrinkling just a little. “Aria, do you… smell different?”

I blinked. “What? Smell… different?”

She nodded, her nostrils twitching. “Yeah, it’s like… familiar, but I can’t quite place it.”

“Oh, uh…” Instantly, my stomach dropped—I’d been here before. When I had used Darren’s body wash that day I fell in the water. My mind quickly scrambled, and I managed, “New laundry detergent.”

Lily narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth as if to say something.

But then, Darren stepped into the room with a stack of papers in hand. He glanced between us, his expression neutral as he nodded in greeting. As he passed by, Lily’s face changed almost instantly.

“That’s it,” she murmured, almost to herself, as she stared at Darren. “That scent… it’s yours.” Her eyes shifted between the two of us, the wheels clearly turning in her mind.

My heart pounded as I watched her face go from confusion to comprehension, her mouth dropping open slightly as her gaze landed on me. Darren froze, his own eyes widening.

Suddenly, it seemed to hit her. She knew. God, she knew.

“Oh my Goddess!” she said, her voice rising. “You two are—”

Before she could finish, I clamped my hand over her mouth, feeling my own face heat up at the contact. Without missing a beat, Darren rushed over and locked the door behind us as Lily struggled beneath my grip.

“Shh!”