“Cal's glance fell on our joined hands, and he turned away.”

“I glanced around at everyone. “It’s going to be bad. Worse than bad, probably.”“We’ll manage it,” Cal said.“Yeah,” Jenna said, smiling shakily. “We’re kind of badass in our own right.”I gripped her hand. “Damn straight.”

“Cal, Archer, Jenna and I managed to achieve something truly impressive: the *four-way* glance.”

“The sparks faded, but Cal didn't take his hand off mine.”

“He gently pried my hand off his arm. "I have to," he said softly. He went to turn away, and then stopped, like maybe he was reconsidering. But instead of agreeing to come back to the Itineris with me, he reached out, cupped my face, and brought his lips to mine.I was so shocked that I literally froze in place, one hand hovering in the air next to Cal's shoulder. The kiss was brief--just a little too long to be considered chaste--but when he pulled away, all I could do was stare at him, my mouth slightly agape. He ran his thumb over my lower lip, sending a tiny flurry of sparks through me. "Goodbye, Sophie.”

“Cal had been waiting for us at the pond. When he’d seen me, he’d given me a barely perceptible nod, which was the Cal version of waving his hands over his head and yelling, “Hey, Sophie!”

“Of course, once I'd wrapped my mind around the fact that it was Cal and not Archer standing in my bedroom, it dawned on me that Cal was standing in my bedroom."Hey," I breathed, hoping my hair wasn't a huge tangled mess, even though I was ninety-nine percent sure that it was. I mean, I could see it out of my peripheral vision."Hey.""You're,um,in my room.""I am.""Is that allowed?""Well,we are engaged," Cal deadpanned.I squinted at him, shoving big handfuls of my hair away from my face. I had no idea if that was supposed to be a joke or not. You could never tell with Cal."Did you want to watch me sleep or something? Because if that's the case, this engagement is so broken."Cal's lips quirked in what might have been a smile. "Do you have a smart-ass reply for everything?"If at all possible,yeah.”