If they all had to get mated, maybe Paxton and Libby could be together. A weird shiver went through Hope, hitting her in the stomach. She didn’t want Libby to have Pax. But she loved Libby—they were like sisters. Shouldn’t she want Libby and Paxton to be together?

He was watching her, still holding her hand. “What?”

“I don’t know,” she said, wishing things were as simple as they used to be.

Then, Paxton kept her hand and leaned forward. His mouth was on hers before she could take a breath, and she blinked, shutting her eyes. Curiosity kept her still, and when he moved his lips, she moved hers too. Tingles swept along her mouth and through her arms, even to her fingers.

Paxton leaned back, his eyes dark now.

Wow. She’d just kissed Paxton. Or he’d kissed her. “Um, I have to go back to sleep.” She let go of his hand and turned to go back to bed, settling in and watching as he moved off the window seat and slid back into his sleeping bag. It took a long time, but he finally started breathing smoothly, falling into sleep.

Libby rolled over, her eyes wide open. “Did Pax kiss you?” she whispered.

Hope nodded. “Pax kissed me and I held Drake’s hand in a dream world.”

Libby’s head jerked and her jaw kind of dropped. “You have two boyfriends?”

“No.” Hope pressed her hand against her mouth to keep from giggling. “I don’t have any. We’re all just friends.”

Libby snorted. “Girlfriend, you’ve had a big night.” Her accent copied a girl from television and sounded like she was from the South.

Hope giggled, unable to stop. It had been a weird night.

Libby smacked her arm. “Shhh. You’ll wake up Paxton.” She stopped smiling. “You’re gonna have to choose one of them. They already don’t like each other. This will only make it worse.”

Hope shook her head. “I’m not choosing either of them. We’re friends, and that’s all. You know I can’t date until I’m sixteen.” Her dad had been more than clear about that, and for the first time, she was actually glad. She didn’t have to make a choice.

Libby snuggled down, her face in the pillow. “Did you like kissing?”

Hope thought about it. “Yeah. It was nice.”

It really was.

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

When Grace didn’t move fast enough, Adare reached over and plucked her from her chair. “Are you always going to be this difficult?”

“Probably.” She perched on his lap as if she wasn’t sure where to put her hands. A lovely flush slid from her neck up to the smooth skin of her face, turning her pink and making her green eyes shine. “Before we go through all of this, don’t you think we should discuss this suicide raid you insist on undertaking?”