Page 63 of Mended Hearts

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I woke up,dazed and confused, still in the blanket fort, my hand automatically drifting to Ollie’s cheek, where he was illuminated by the twinkle lights and looking at me like I’d hung the freaking moon.

“Hey, Trouble.”

Blinking, I pulled away from his neatly stubbled face as I realized what I was doing. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he said, that gentle smile growing. “Not gonna lie, I’m just glad that’s your reaction to waking up to my ugly mug.”

“Ugly mug,” I scoffed, sitting up and blinking as the world tilted around me, stars glittering in my vision. Whoops. Must’ve moved faster than I realized. I blinked again to clear them, catching the way Ollie canted his head.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” I said, yawning. “Just sleepy. Where’s Tillie?”

“I tucked her into her bed. Debated letting you sleep, but figured you’d lose circulation in your arm if I left you there.”

“Mmm,” I hummed, slowly stretching my arms and neck. He was right, of course—I’d had it propped under my head like a pillow, and the joint was annoyingly tight.

“You two were pretty cute, all cuddled up in there. Didn’t wanna disturb either of you, but I figured you’d kick my ass if I left you on the floor.”

“Eh.” I shrugged. “I don’t mind. She did great, by the way. We’re going to decorate a worry jar after school tomorrow—today?”

“Today,” he confirmed with a grimace.

“Thank you, Leigh. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you tonight.”

“Figured it out, like you always do.”

“Maybe. But I don’t think so. She would’ve had to sit through three hours of that chaos feeling that low, and… yikes.”

“You would’ve figured it out.”

“Maybe.”

“You know,” I said with a pointed look as he extended a hand to help me up, “she’s gonna be trouble.”

“What?” he asked, pulling me to my feet. I accepted the steadying grip and absolutely did not get butterflies at the simple contact.

“She’s already got a thing for Viggo.”

“Oh.” He chuckled, smirk growing as he shook his head. “And Orlando, the boy wonder. I knew I was screwed when she swooned over Zac Efron at age eight. Tried to marry a boy in kindergarten.”

That made me laugh, a hand covering my mouth as I yawned. “AndCaptain Reynolds.”

“What?” he asked in disbelief, eyes going wide.

“Oh yes. He walked the perimeter in the rain tonight, came back drenched—pretty sure they’ll have to slice that leather jacket off him—and she was beside herself.”

“Awe, man. I liked him, too.”

“Yep. Said she likes when ‘they’re wet and angry.’”

He threw his head back, one hand flying to cover his heart like I’d mortally wounded him. “Dammit. I thought I had years before this shit.”

“Maybe she’ll lose interest between now and high school.” I straightened my skirt and snatched my discarded bow off the coffee table as Ollie wandered toward the foyer.

“God, a man can only hope,” he muttered. “How do we get her into the cootie phase? I thought I got one of those.”

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