Page 43 of Knot Your Sugar Rush
Theo nods slowly. “You can open a candy store any day. But the chance to finish something your sister started? That kind of opportunity doesn’t wait.”
Their words steady something inside me. I swallow hard, blinking back the sting in my eyes. They never push for more. Not about her. Not about the ache that still lives in my ribs like a hollow. They just... stand beside me. And that means more than I can say.
“Thank you,” I murmur. “For not making me explain.”
Jamie offers me a soft smile. “We don’t need the details to know she mattered. You matter. That’s enough.”
Just then, the front door opens and closes with a solid thunk. Dane steps into the kitchen, rolling up his sleeves as he sets his bag down by the doorway. His presence shifts the room, grounding it.
“Smells good in here,” he says, brushing hair from his eyes.
Jamie waves a piece of toast. “We fed her. She’s working on botanical treasure maps.”
Dane raises an eyebrow. “That a new business plan?”
“No,” I say. “A recipe. An old one. And maybe a new one, too.”
Theo fills him in, passing the map down the table. Dane studies it in silence, his brows knitting slightly.
“How was your meeting?” Jamie asks.
“Fine,” Dane replies. Too short. Too neutral.
Theo and Jamie exchange a look, but let it drop.
Dane's gaze lingers on the map. “You said the flower’s on Tern Hollow?”
“Yeah,” I say. “At least, it might be. It's a long shot.”
Dane steps around the table, resting one hand on the back of my chair. “Then let’s go get it.”
I blink up at him. “What?”
“Why not? Could be fun.”
Theo narrows his eyes. “Since when do you want to take impulsive boat trips to haunted islands?”
Dane shrugs. “Maybe I need a break from being predictable.”
Jamie grins. “And you love an excuse to one-up us in wilderness skills.”
I look at them—these three alphas who walked into my life and made it feel not only manageable again, but something else entirely. Something steady. Like building blocks instead of broken pieces. And now, with Zae’s recipe in my hands and their support behind me, it feels like maybe... maybe I can give her dream shape again.
My heart thumps with the thrill of it. The adventure. The memory of Zae’s voice echoing in my mind:For rainy days or heartbreaks. One bite = better.
“Okay,” I say. “We go.
Chapter twenty-seven
Cam
The hospital room is warm with late afternoon sun, the filtered light spilling through beige curtains in lazy stripes across Gram’s blanket. She looks better—less pale, more herself. There’s a mischievous glint in her eyes as she finishes telling a story to the nurse, who bursts into laughter before gently patting her arm and excusing herself with a shake of her head.
I knock lightly on the open doorframe. “Entertaining the entire staff again?”
Gram turns toward me with that familiar grin. “Well, they don’t exactly get many feisty old omegas with tales of moonshine misadventures and street dances. I’m doing them a favor.”
I laugh as I step into the room, the scent of antiseptic and something floral—probably the hand lotion the nurse used—mingling in the air. I pull up a chair and sit beside her bed, setting my bag down quietly.
