“I’m game…if you’re inviting me,” Carter replied. “I mean, are you?”

“No,” I answered, and he scoffed. “No one is inviting anyone.”

The conversation died swiftly and turned to the sounds of chewing while they looked at one another with the whole “fucking Grayson” look I’d become accustomed to.

“Well, I’m up for it. Grouchy-pants-Grayson, you don’t have to visit or anything. You stay on your side, and we’ll stay on ours.” Sam broke the tension with a giggle, nudging me with her shoulder.

I shook my head and sighed. “There are no words for you, Samantha.”

She shrugged, then stole one of my French fries with a grin. “You’re going to miss me this weekend.”

Damn it, she was right.

The smell of the ocean hit me the moment they opened the airplane door. Home. I descended the steps out of the aircraft, the warm breeze washing over me better than any welcome-home banner could have.

I waited on the tarmac until my carry-on made its appearance and then walked into the tiny airport I’d seen far too much of this last year.

“Gray!” Mia shrieked, racing past the small crowd to fly into my arms in a skinny tangle of dark curls.

“Hey, Mia.” She weighed next to nothing as I leaned back, bringing her feet off the ground. “You need a cheeseburger, little sis.”

“Ugh. Shut up. My prom dress barely fit as it was!” She let go and led me through the living-room-size waiting room to where Parker leaned against the doorframe.

“Welcome home, Gray,” she said with a Parker-like half smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She was an older version of Mia, but she’d clipped her curls to pixie-length and wore her skirts about four inches higher.

“Did you draw the short straw, Parker?”

She snorted. “Dad is busy with The Alibi, and Mom is pulling double duty on the accounting books. Besides, I’m not sure you’d make it anywhere alive if we let Mia drive you.”

I nearly blanched. “No. Mia will not be driving.”

“I’m not that bad,” she protested, but climbed into the back of Parker’s Jeep Liberty.

I folded myself into the front seat and slid it back. “Is your boyfriend a shrimp or something?”

She rolled her eyes at me. “No boyfriend.”

“Maybe that’s why you’re so incredibly pleasant.” I raised my eyebrows at her, and she flipped me off.

Mia burst into giggles as we left the parking lot, pulling out onto 64 and heading off Roanoke Island. The traffic backed up once we crossed the bridge into Nags Head, and Parker cursed, “Fucking tourists.”

“Watch your mouth around Mia.”

“I’m eighteen, Gray. It’s not like I haven’t heard the word ‘fuck,’ or even said it a few times. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. See?” Mia stuck her tongue out. That girl was going to give a guy a run for his money one day. She’d love Sam.

I shut that thought down pronto. There was never going to be a reason for Mia to meet Sam.

“Well, you still act thirteen, so let’s hold off on the swearing. Especially around Mom. Unless you’d like to put on a show, in which case, I want to be there.” I rolled down the window and took a deep breath of the ocean air. This, I missed. Everything else? Not so much.

“It’s not like I have a death wish.” Mia laughed, poking me in the shoulder as I took my phone off airplane mode.

A text came through.

Unknown: Hey, where do you keep the cumin?

My eyebrows hit the roof.

Grayson: Who is this?

Unknown: Oh, come on. Like Josh or Jagger even know what cumin is?

A corner of my mouth lifted. Samantha. I entered her as the contact on the number, whispering her name as I spelled it out on the keyboard.

Grayson: What have you done with my kitchen?

Samantha: Wrecked it. There’s batter dripping from the light fixture.

I full-on snorted.

Grayson: Top shelf to the left of where we used to keep the coffee. Please be careful when you get it down. I’m not there to catch you this time.

My hands itched, remembering all too well the feel of her curves in my arms when she’d fallen, the way her gaze had dropped to my lips. Damn. Even a thousand miles away, I felt tethered to her by an attraction that only burned hotter the more time we spent together…the longer we lived together. Knowing Sam existed would be enough, but living with her heightened everything, like reverse immersion therapy or something.

Samantha: Then stop putting things where I can’t reach them.

“Smartass,” I muttered.

“Holy shit, is that…” Parker’s head whipped back to the road. “Is that a smile?”

“What’s different about you? You almost seem…happy?” Mia added in.

Happy? Everything in me locked down, like I’d been caught stealing, or worse…cheating. Sam’s face flashed through my mind, the way she’d fit perfectly against me on the bathroom floor, the softness of her skin setting fire to mine, and the scent of vanilla. That was ludicrous. Yes, I had…something for Sam, but it could hardly be considered cheating, right? I rolled up the window and focused on blinking brake lights as we crawled through the Memorial Day influx of tourists. “Nothing’s different.”

“Who’s Samantha?” Mia prodded, digging in.

“No one you need to worry about, imp. Just one of my roommates.” I regretted the words the moment they were out of my mouth.