LAURA I could've bet my last dollar that I heard the sound of a door closing in hurry—and a huge part of me believed that it was Balery who must have been spying on us since the moment we arrived—but thankfully, as Alex walked up the stairs with me in his arms, we didn't run into anyone. Not even Drew or Jake. At least I didn't have to worry about explaining to anyone why I had my limbs wrapped around him like a f*****g octopus. "What are you thinking?" I looked up and saw that Alex had his eyes straight ahead as he climbed up the stairs, as they had been since we entered the house, so how was it possible that he'd managed to know that I was thinking? "I'm not," I lied. "You are," he countered, and I could see us going on like this if I didn't do something about it.

