Page 102 of Sweet Ruin

“If you asked me here to try and push your Noah agenda on me, I’m leaving,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Yeah, Luther,” Anna said, splashing water at him. “She’s not going to dump Wes and start dating Noah again just because you asked.”

“It was worth a shot.” Luther shrugged, but there was a cheeky grin on his face. “But I guess I’ll try my best not to bring up how incredible Noah is. How handsome, noble, gracious, good at snowboarding…”

I lifted my eyebrows. “So, you do want me to leave.”

“No. Definitely not.” He lifted his hands and pretended to zip his mouth shut. Only two seconds later though, he was talking again. “I’m just sad this is the first time I’ve managed to drag you over here.”

“Luther…” I said. “You know why I haven’t come over here.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, because of No—” He stopped himself and pretended to cough in an attempt to cover up the fact he’d just been about to say Noah’s name. “You worry too much, newbie. Everyone knows you’re with Wes, andyou know whorespects that.”

“Perhaps,” I said. “Though I’m not sure Wes would agree with you.”

“Getting a little jealous, is he?” Luther grinned.

“You don’t have to look quite so pleased, Luther,” Cress scoffed.

“Pleased? Me? Never.”

“You’re pushing it, Luther…” Anna’s voice trailed off when we heard the sound of the front door opening.

“Luther? You home?” It was Kaden, and as I recognized his voice, the water surrounding me suddenly felt as cold as the snow around us.

I shot Luther a wary glance, but he had turned away from me to look through the door into the house, oblivious to my inner turmoil. I prayed Kaden was alone, and my heart raced with uncertainty.

“We’re out here,” Luther called.

“We?” Kaden looked confused as he stepped out onto the terrace, and then his eyes widened and he stopped in his tracks as he saw Anna, Cress, and I sitting in the hot tub. His gaze flicked straight to Cress, and his cheeks turned slightly pink. “Hey, Cress,” he said with a cautious smile.

“Hey, Kaden,” she replied, her cheeks flushing even more than his. “I thought you’d be gone all day.”

“That was the plan,” he said. “But the conditions were terrible up there. We probably would have killed ourselves if we’d attempted the run we wanted to do.”

“Well, I’m glad you saw sense.”

“Me too,” he replied. “Especially now that you’re here.”

I probably would have found the two of them adorable if I wasn’t so thoroughly freaking out.

“What’s going on out here?” My heart froze as Noah’s voice confirmed my worst fear. I sunk a little lower in the hot tub, wishing I could disappear as he emerged onto the balcony. He was still dressed in his ski gear, and I had to admit Anna had a point about him. Noah did look pretty hot in his baggy snow pants with his ski jacket hanging open to reveal a Weybridge Academy hoodie underneath. His hair was tousled, and his cheeks were pink from being out in the cold. I never thought a guy could look appealing in such messy, baggy clothes, but Noah somehow made it work.

He was grinning as he came out to see what was happening, but surprise flashed on his face, and his mouth cracked open slightly when he saw me in the water. I guess I was the last person he expected to be out here.

He got over his shock quickly though, and his gaze softened as he looked at me. There was a hint of a smile, and his expression seemed hopeful. I hoped me being here wasn’t going to give him the wrong idea.

“Isobel, you’re here.” He was speaking to me like we were the only two people out here, and I felt myself sink a little farther in the water.

“We were just about to leave.” I stammered out the words.

“No, you weren’t,” Luther replied. “You only just got here.”

I shot Luther a scowl, but he simply grinned before he returned his focus to his friends. “Are you guys getting in or what?”

“Yeah, I’ll just get changed,” Kaden replied.

Noah glanced at me as if he were waiting for my permission. I didn’t want him in the water with us, and I was still getting over the surprise of his arrival. But this was his friend’s house, and I could hardly insist he stayed inside while we were all out here enjoying the hot tub.

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