Page 275 of Wild Card

My blood pressure skyrockets. “This is my future and you’re worried about a party?”

“Sure.” He shrugs, taking Bex’s hand. “I’m thirsty.”

“You’re thirsty?!”

“I’ve been craving one of Shayla’s margaritas.” Bex moves with him to the stairs.

“Are you serious?” I screech.

“What’s the problem, Wills? You don’t want to know, we can wait until tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait until tomorrow knowing it’s sitting in my inbox!”

Chase and Bex both smile triumphantly, and I want to scratch the self-satisfied smirks off their faces.

Dad chuckles under his breath and Mom turns her head.

Talon has the decency to remain straight-faced, leading me to my laptop, which mysteriously is sitting on the kitchen counter, open to my email.

I notice the address immediately, my nerves spiking as it taunts me on the screen.

“Want me to open it?” he offers, and I nod, burying my face in his shoulder.

After a few seconds, his lips brush my earlobe. “Take a look, beautiful.”

I crack one eye, scanning over the words until I zone in on the most important one.

Passed.

My breath catches and I choke on a little sob.

“Proud of you, baby.” Talon threads his fingers through my hair, bending closer. Before his lips touch mine, I’m ripped away and jostled into a shrieking Bex.

“I knew you could do it!”

I’m numb at the moment, being passed around to everyone. Their words are a jumbled mess in my head as I struggle to believe them.

I did it…

The excitement dies down, Dad’s mouth forming a hard line. “Willow?”

Talon reclaims me, ducking into my line of sight. His gorgeous face brings it all back into perspective.

“I did it.”

He crushes me to him. “I never had any doubt.”

There’s something in his voice and my Spidey senses perk up. “Did you already know?”

His non-answer says it all. I pinch his side and he flinches.

“You did know! How? “

Earlier today flashes in my head, him taking a call and walking outside with Wolf.

“What did you do?”

“I was sick of their bullshit system-wide crash, so I called in a favor.”

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