Untill you

3

When we were kids, Mom baked us a themed birthday cake every single year. She’d surprise us with something astonishing every time, depending on what we were into at that age, and it was always the highlight of our day.

When we lost our parents, birthdays became more of a memorial than the celebration they’d have wanted for us. It was hard on me, but it was even harder on Noah. It killed me to see him heartbroken on his own birthday, so when I was fourteen, I set out to make him a cake. It was barely edible, but from the moment Noah laid his eyes on it, he was filled with the same excitement and happiness I was used to seeing. I’ve made him a cake every year since, and it’s become one of my favorite family traditions.

Noah hugs the cake box to his chest and moves so carefully that I can’t help but chuckle as he disappears around the corner, taking his prized possession to the kitchen. I glance at Brad, expecting him to share my amusement, but instead he looks angry. I raise my brows, and he grits his teeth.

“He always does this,” Brad says, his eyes flashing with anger. “He always ignores me. I was standing right there, but he only greeted you. It’s so obvious that he hates me. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve that type of rude treatment. I shouldn’t even have bothered coming. I doubt Noah wants me here.”

I pause in the hallway and lift my hand to Brad’s shoulders. “He didn’t mean it that way,” I say, my voice soft. “He’s just excited about the cake I made him. The cake… it’s our thing, it’s a tradition, and this particular tradition is sacred to us.”

Brad looks away and exhales loudly, his annoyance on display. “You can’t even tell me he doesn’t hate me, can you?”

I sigh, wishing we didn’t have to go through this right now. Brad has been convinced that Noah hates him from the start, but Noah has never done anything to make him feel that way. Even when I question Brad about his feelings, he can’t give me concrete examples, and I have no idea what to do.

“I’ve told you he doesn’t hate you so many times now,” I say, my voice soft. “He wouldn’t have invited you over today if he did.”

I get where Brad is coming from, though. Noah hasn’t been the friendliest, but then he’s always taken a while to warm to strangers, and that’s what Brad is to him. I’ve never brought anyone home before. And with how busy Noah is, he hasn’t had a chance to get to know Brad, to figure out how our family dynamics work with him added to the equation. Noah doesn’t like change, and Brad has been the biggest change we’ve been through in the last couple of years… since we lost our parents.

I sigh and rise to my tiptoes to kiss Brad in an attempt to ease his worries. Much to my surprise, he takes a step away, his eyes wide.

I blink in confusion and turn to follow his gaze, coming face to face with stormy, dark brown eyes that I know all too well.

“Grayson,” I whisper.

3

G

rayson

I lean back against the doorframe, my eyes on Aria and the man standing next to her. She’s wearing some ridiculously high heels tonight, and she’s almost as tall as her boyfriend with them on. Her long hair flows down her back in dark waves, and her stunning chocolate eyes are flashing.

I watch as her smile melts away because of something he said and cross my arms, forcing myself to stay put. Aria is always smiling. I’ve always known her as the girl that’ll smile through her tears, the girl that won’t let the world see the pain that lives inside her. She’s one of the strongest women I know, so who the f**k is this asshole that’s putting that frown on her face?

I watch as she places her hands on his shoulder, her eyes on his. She speaks to him so softly that I can’t make out her words, but her expression tells me she’s placating him somehow. She’s appeasing him, so they must have been arguing. I don’t like the anger in his eyes, the way Aria seems to reason with him. Something about this whole exchange doesn’t feel right to me.

Aria rises to her tiptoes, as though she’s about to kiss him, and I tense. Right before her lips meet his, he notices me standing in the hallway and takes a step back, his eyes widening with recognition.

Aria follows his line of sight, her lips tipping up in a familiar smile when they settle on me.

“Grayson,” she whispers.

Aria walks up to me, her heels clicking against the wooden floor. She pauses in front of me, the top of her head barely reaching my shoulder.

“Aria,” I say, my voice soft. Her name has always felt like a sin on my lips.

She tips her head to the side and smiles at me, her eyes twinkling. I breathe a sigh of relief — this is the Aria I know, ever surrounded by a hint of mischief.

“I didn’t know you’d be here,” she says, her voice as sweet as it’s always been.

I nod, and her smile widens.

“Still so incredibly eloquent,” she adds, her eyes filled with amusement. “It’s nice to see you. I’m not sure Noah will ever get used to not having you around anymore.”

It’s been five years since I moved back to California, and I’m not sure I’ve gotten used to it myself. During the time I was studying, Miami became home to me, and in some ways, it still is. After all, it’s where Noah and Aria are.

I tense when Brad wraps his arm around Aria’s waist and glance at him, assessing the man that seems to have stolen Aria’s heart. What does she see in him? Must be his character, because surely she isn’t into this type of guy? He’s wearing more hair product than she is, and his teeth are weirdly white. It’s unnatural, and it creeps me the f**k out.

“Darling, won’t you introduce me?” he says, not a trace of his previous annoyance present.

Aria’s eyes light up, and it irritates me. It annoys me she lights up for him like that.

“Grayson, meet my boyfriend, Brad.”

Brad holds his hand out for me and I glance at it, part of me wanting to leave him hanging. I grab his hand and shake it with far more force than I need to. He pulls his hand away and slides it into his pocket, struggling to hide a grimace. “It’s so great to meet you, Grayson,” he says. His tone gets on my nerves. I see the eagerness in his eyes, the irritating smile. I know his type, and I can’t stand people like him. Sleaze ball. What does Aria see in this guy?

My eyes roam over him, taking in his far too tight shirt and his douchebag haircut. How much hair gel does this guy use? I can’t help but wonder if his hair would budge if I place a tennis ball on top of his head. I doubt it would. If anything, it might permanently fuse to his hair.

Brad turns to Aria and holds her tighter. “Darling, you never told me you knew Grayson Callahan.”

He sounds far too excited, and his tone grates on me. Aria smiles tightly, her eyes shifting away, as though her connection to me makes her uncomfortable. “He’s my brother’s best friend,” she says, her voice soft.

Her brother’s best friend, huh? I guess that is what I am, but she’s always treated me like I’m one of her friends too, like I’m family.

Brad turns to her, his brows raised. “The CEO of one of the world’s largest software engineering firms is your brother’s best friend, and you work for a boutique firm?”

Aria shrugs him off and walks toward the dining room, where Noah has already put his birthday cake on display.

I watch her as she forces her signature bright smile onto her face, but she isn’t fooling Noah or me. He glances at me with raised brows, and I shake my head slightly.

Brad follows and stares at her. It annoys me that he so obviously demands an answer. “Not everyone can get into Aequitas,” she says eventually, her voice soft. “Besides, I’m not working as an engineer. I have no relevant work experience. You know that.”

Aria sits down at the dining table and starts fussing with the plates and cutlery, her expression stormy. Brad sits down beside her, his arm on the back of her chair, and I drag my eyes away. He’s f*****g clueless. He doesn’t even seem to realize that Aria is angry.