Page 29 of Heatwaves

Who the hell is in my house right now?

At least I know why I woke up alone.

Before I have a chance to do anything else, the door swings open and Wyatt steps inside.

“Oh, I thought you would have still been sleeping.” He quickly closes the door behind him, leaning against it.

Cocking an eyebrow, I wait for him to tell me what’s going on, but after a moment of silence, he says nothing.

“Who’s in my house?”

“Ummm…well…about that…”

I snort when he trails off again. “Have you forgotten how to speak?”

He snickers. “Maybe. How can I not when you’re standing there in nothing but a robe that’s wide open?”

Glancing down, I shrug. Guess I missed a step in the whole getting dressed process. I belt the robe before lifting my eyes to him expectantly.

“Don’t get mad—“

“No good ever comes from a statement that starts like that.”

He makes a face. “Can I continue?”

He waits until I nod before continuing, “Carter, Aidan, Ty, and Oliver are here.”

“What the fuck are they doing here?” I demand, already moving toward the door, pausing when he doesn’t immediately get out of the way. “Move, Wyatt.”

“I know you’re upset with them—angry even—but I think you should hear them out.”

I jerk back like he slapped me, eyes wide as I stare up at him. “Excuse me?”

“Not about what happened while they were gone,” he says quickly. “Just about why they’re here today.”

I bite my cheek to keep myself from snapping at him. He sounds so earnest, and I have to remind myself that he always has my back. He knows the entire story. He’s witnessed more than a few times where I’ve fallen apart thinking about them.

“Fine. I’ll hear them out, but I’m not promising anything.”

Wyatt nods, hesitating for a moment before stepping aside. I throw open the door and stomp toward the kitchen, where I hear their voices. Anger and hurt build inside of me as I listen to their murmured voices. I can’t make out what they’re saying, but it doesn’t matter. Heats tend to enhance our feelings, and right now, I’m feeling a lot of different emotions.

Stepping into the kitchen, my words burst from me. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

They all stop what they’re doing, eyes wide as they take me in. They look the way I remember, not seeming to have aged at all. When none of them says anything, I throw my hands up in the air.

“I feel like that was a pretty simple question. What are you doing here?”

“Uh…” Carter trails off, his eyes running up and down my body.

“Lila.” Aidan’s voice is soft as he draws my attention, and I give a sharp shake of my head.

“We’re not doing this. I’m not going to listen to you explain what happened. I don’t want to hear it.” Well, I do, but not right now. Hell, I don’t know when I’ll be ready to hear it, but with my heat kicking in, now definitely is not the time. “I want to know why you’re in my house, and that’s all I want to know.”

Ty clears his throat, eyes on the floor. “Since you left the meet and greet because of us, we wanted to make sure you had help for your heat.”

“Which I obviously do,” I state, my hands landing on my hips. “So, why are you still here?”

There’s a shuffling behind me, telling me Wyatt has joined us. “That would be because of me. I know I told you I could handle your heat alone, and I would’ve if I had to. But it would be easier if I had help.”

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