Chapter Eight
Nora's P.O.V
I looked at Amelia, eyes wide and voice tight. “What do I do?”
She blinked at me, surprised by the question. I barely gave her time to answer.
“My brother can’t know about me and Leo. Not yet. I don’t even know what this is—” I waved a hand vaguely. “And if Nick finds out, he’s going to lose his mind.
He’ll hate it. He’ll hate Leo.”
Amelia pressed her lips together, then sat up straighter, the teasing gone from her eyes.
“Well,” she said carefully, “I mean… you kind of did fall for his best friend. That’s always messy.”
“I didn’t fall for anyone,” I said too fast.
Her eyebrows rose. “No? So, the staring, the ‘I can’t breathe after he kissed me’ bit—that was just what? Allergies?”
I shot her a glare, but it barely held. My arms tightened around my stomach. “I don’t want to make things weird between them. Nick doesn’t exactly… trust people easily. And Leo—he’s not like other guys.”
Amelia’s brows twitched, curious. “Not like other guys how?”
I hesitated.
“He’s intense,” I said finally. “And quiet. And there’s something about him that feels… sharp. Like he’s holding something back.”
Amelia leaned in, her voice low and laced with that grin she got when things started getting juicy. “Sounds like someone’s into the broody bad-boy thing.”
I groaned and dropped my face into my hands. “I’m serious, Ames.”
She touched my shoulder. “I know you are.”
I looked up. “If Nick finds out too soon, before I even know what’s happening… I just don’t want him to feel like I betrayed him.”
Amelia sat with that for a moment, then nodded. “Okay. So don’t tell him yet.”
I blinked. “Really?”
“I mean, look—I’m all about communication and whatever, but Nick has a short fuse when it comes to people he cares about. Especially you.” She shrugged.
“I think it’s fair to figure out what’s going on before lighting that particular fire.”
My voice dropped. “And what if it turns into something real?”
She smiled a little. “Then he’ll lose his mind, threaten to kill Leo, probably stop speaking to both of you for a week. And then he’ll get over it.”
“You’re very reassuring.”
“I try.”
I sighed and leaned back. “This is a disaster.”
Amelia leaned her head against mine. “A beautiful, forbidden, emotionally volatile disaster.”
We were both quiet for a second, then she added, “Also, if Leo does break your heart, I’ll personally make sure he regrets it.”
I laughed softly. “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I still kissed your brother.”
I turned my head slowly to stare at her.
She just smirked. “So… I guess we’re both keeping secrets from Nick now.”
Before I could respond, my phone buzzed—a text from Nick.You guys want to get comfy and watch a movie in the den? Me and Leo are already down here.
I stared at the message for a second too long, heart skipping like it hadn’t just been thirty minutes since Leo’s mouth was on mine and my brain short-circuited.
Amelia leaned over. “Who is it?”
“Nick,” I said, voice flat, handing her the phone.
She read the message, lips twitching. “Oh, this is rich.”
“I’m going to die,” I muttered, dropping my head back against my pillows.
Amelia snorted. “You’re going to sit next to your brother and the guy you were just sinning with, and you’re going to pretend like everything’s normal. You can do this.”
“I cannot.”
“You can and you will. Put on your best innocent face.
I gave her a look as I typed back a simple reply.
Yeah we’re coming.
My thumb hovered for half a second before I hit send.
“God help me,” I muttered, pushing up off the bed. “If Leo looks at me like he did earlier—”
“I will be watching,” Amelia said with mock solemnity, grabbing a blanket off the chair. “And I expect popcorn. And tension.”
Before we left my room, I threw on a pair of sleep shorts and an oversized hoodie—one of those old, worn-soft ones I’d had for years, sleeves swallowed my hands, hem hung just long enough to hide the shorts underneath. Comfortable. Deceptively innocent.
Amelia gave me a once-over and raised a brow. “That’s your ‘nothing to see here’ outfit?”
I grabbed a pillow from the floor and smacked her with it. “Shut up.”
She just laughed, tucking the blanket around her shoulders like a cape. “It’s cute. Leo’s going to suffer.”
“Good,” I muttered, opening the door.
We slipped out of the room, my heartbeat tapping a little too loud in my ears.
We walked toward the den, her smirking, me trying not to combust.
Because if Nick had even an ounce of intuition… this movie night was about to be the longest two hours of my life.
We made it into the den, the lights low, and the movie already paused on the opening screen. There they were—Nick and Leo—each sitting on opposite ends of the big couch like a carefully measured truce. A bowl of popcorn sat between them like neutral territory.
Before we could even say anything, Nick reached out, grabbed Amelia by the wrist, and pulled her straight into his lap. She yelped, startled.
“Nick! I can sit on the couch!”
He grinned, totally unfazed. “You are.”
She gave him a flat look as she adjusted herself, muttering something about cavemen and personal space, but her cheeks were pink and she didn’t actually try to get up.
I hesitated only a second, then sat in the open space between them. Right in the middle. Not close to Leo. Not touching him. Not even looking his way.
I could feel him, though.
His arm stretched along the back of the couch behind me—casual, relaxed—but it may as well have been a tripwire. His presence burned at the edge of my awareness like heat from a fire I wasn’t supposed to touch again.
I focused hard on the screen. On breathing. On keeping my hoodie sleeves pulled over my hands so I wouldn’t fidget.
If Nick noticed anything off, he didn’t say. He just pressed play.
The movie started.
And I sat there, one heartbeat away from combustion.
Twenty minutes in, I couldn’t breathe.
The movie was loud, the room too warm, Leo’s presence crawling over my skin like static. Every time he shifted, every time his knee brushed the couch cushion near me, it felt like a warning. Like a dare.
I shot to my feet, heart slamming against my ribs.
“I’m going to get something to drink,” I said quickly. “Keep watching.”
Nick barely glanced up. “Grab me a soda?”
“Sure,” I lied.
Amelia gave me a knowing side-eye, but she stayed curled in Nick’s lap, thankfully silent.
I escaped into the kitchen like it was a lifeboat, flicked on the dim overhead light, and grabbed the counter for balance. My breath came fast—shallow and tight. I leaned over it, palms braced against the edge.
“Come on, Nora,” I whispered to myself. “It’s just a movie. He’s your brother’s best friend. Act normal.”