Orion doesn’t look convinced. His protectiveness isn’t just instinctive—it’s ingrained. He’s spent the past year guarding me, making sure no one ever got too close. That I had time to get over my last heartbreak—which if I’m being honest with myself—wasn’t that much of a heartbreak. That no one ever had the chance to hurt me again. And now, Theo is standing here, in my kitchen, cooking me breakfast, fresh from my bed, and I can practically hear the internal alarms going off in Orion’s head.

After a long moment, he grumbles under his breath and stalks off.

Theo sighs, turning back to the stove. “Remind me to bring a suit of armor the next time I stay over.”

“Inviting yourself over already?” I ask, hiding a smile as I grab a plate.

“Next time there will be no alcohol involved.” He says with a heat in his gaze. “By the way, you’re out of maple syrup. I improvised with honey.”

I glance at him, my chest tightening with warmth. Did he just imply what I thought he implied?

He flashes me a quick smile, and for the first time in a long while, everything feels… easy. Perfect, even. Too perfect.

Orion, as always, shatters the moment.

“We should be hearing back from my friend about the DNA soon. Have you been able to figure anything else out about the cyanide poisoning? Have there been any other people in town that also had mysterious deaths that could potentially be connected?”

Theo shakes his head, flipping the last piece of French toast onto a plate. “Not much yet. I think Mo was going to be looking into the specifics of everything. Bennett is only a private investigator so he doesn’t have the connections she has. Especially if we want to do everything by the books. Mo also is the one that has those herbalism books to look into. The cafe is closed today so I’ll stop by her place and see if she needs an extra set of eyes.”

Orion straightens, his expression hardening in a way that makes it clear there’s no room for negotiation. “I’m going too.”

Celeste and I exchange a quick look, her eyes sparkling with amusement. This is about to get interesting.

“The more eyes, the better,” Theo says, though there is a cautious note to his tone. “Let me just give her a call. I want to make sure she’s awake and give her a heads-up that we’re heading over—”

“She’s awake, so you don’t need to, I just left her place. I came back here to grab a few things.” Orion cuts him off, already moving toward the door. As he steps into the hallway, he mutters under his breath that sounds suspiciously like, “She’s expecting me to be back soon anyway.”

Wait, what?