“Cromwell raised a brow. "You can't even boil an egg, son." He paused. "Or toast bread without burning it."I couldn't help it, I laughed. "Nice."Hayden frowned at me. "I can toast bread.""You tried to shove a fork in the toaster to get your bread out- that was only a few years ago.""Oh. Wow." I grinned at Hayden."Thanks, Dad." Hayden pushed himself off the counter.”

“You quoted Oscar Wilde.” I smiled. Hayden laughed. “Yeah, that was, like, the height of geekdom.” “No. It was kind of cool.”

“Don’t ever touch her again,” Hayden growled.Kurt looked up, eyes wide. “Are you threatening me— over her? I’m like your brother, Hayden!” “Not anymore.”

“What are you still doing up?” I twisted around, spotting Hayden in the doorway. “Watching the… uh,” I turned back, frowning at the screen, “the… way tigers mate.” I sighed. Damn you, Discovery Channel. He chuckled deep in his throat. “Didn’t know that kind of thing interested you.”“Oh. Yeah, always wanted to know how they picked their boyfriends.”

“Listen to me, Ember. I couldn’t hurt you. I can’t.” Hayden settled his eyes on me. They were softer than I’d ever seen. “I love you— I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you.”

“I like your hair down." He twisted his fingers through the curls.My eyes drifted shut as I relaxed next to him. "It's a mess. I need to get a haircut."Hayden's fingers stilled. "No. You shouldn't cut your hair. It's beautiful."I would never cut my hair. Ever.”

“Ember, he’s not going to—” I pushed off the car. “Please. Hayden, please don’t tell him. I’m all Olivia really has. Please.” My voice cracked, and I looked away, embarrassed. “She’s all I have.” Hayden made a soft noise deep in his throat. Then he clasped my elbows and pulled me right up against him. His arms carefully snaked around my waist, trapping me in a hug. It could have been the bunny. Hell, it could’ve been the last two years that suddenly made me want to stay in Hayden’s embrace. Surely— surely not the way his heat thawed the ice encasing my entire body. Or how hard his chest felt under the sweater… or how perfectly I fit against him. And he was a chivalrous type of guy. Right? He wanted to help me control my gift, as ridiculous as that sounded. Comfort— he offered comfort, and I needed to remember that. His arms around my waist made it hard, really hard to keep that in mind, though. “Okay.” Hayden’s breath stirred the hair around my ear. “Even though I think I should tell him, I won’t. But I will figure out who did this.”