Page 2 (2/2)

Not that Nikki would ever adht Gabe was sooo hot It was because of the hair He wore it longer than his brothers, to his shoulders, and it looked thick and soft, and s, like touch it

Rando his hair would be super weird

And she super doubted he’d appreciate that

Nikki flushed as she found herself staring at Gabe He earing a pair of jeans and a white shirt, and he was barefoot even though the pavers had to be stea hot under his feet

She kind of thought he had nice feet

Gabe had a nice laugh, too He also had a nice smile One that always made Nikki smile And he was kind He always sat and asked her how school was or what she and her friends were up to He showed her how to turn a square piece of wood into so He was a friend to her despite the fact he probably had a ton of better stuff to do

The three brothers were very different Devlin was the cold one Lucian was the crazy one And Gabe was just

Nikki bit back a sigh

He was just, well, everything

Off in the distance, she heard the ru storm and she knew the weather could turn bad quick, but she stayed in the pool, her gaze glued to Gabe

He never treated her like she was inferior because her parents were the help, like sonorant, snobby friends did whenever they were over at the house throughout the years Like Parker did Like Devlin often did whenever he chose to actually acknowledge her

She knew Gabe had a serious girlfriend when he’d been away at college, because he’d brought her hoo Her name was Emma and she was beautiful and nice and Nikki just—she just hated her

Whatever

Gabe and Eether anymore

Nikki smiled to herself

Continuing to creep along the edge of the pool, she stopped when she felt the bottoot deep quick, so she had to be careful unless she seriously wanted to drown So she held onto the edge of the pool with her hands,board she’d only ever seen Lucian and Gabe use They’d throw the no fear

Nikki wanted to do that Have no fear like—

The entire world flashed an intense white as lightning struck the ground nearby A crack of thunder reverberated, sending a chill of fear straight down her spine She shrieked as the sky ripped open Heavy rain poured, pounding off the patio surrounding the pool and the water

Forget staying in the pool!

Scra the side, she started to lift herself up with her arhtning struck the ground, not too far from the pool

The brothers turned right then, just as sheout of the pool and onto the slippery patio

Gabe stepped forward, toward the edge of the veranda, where he was all dry and safe “Nic?”

She gasped as her eyessuit, she looked like a drowned cat trying to climb her way out of the pool! She could seriously just die—

Thunder exploded again It sounded like the sky was falling all around her Then it happened, so fast that one second her foot was slipping and then the next thing she kneater ing her whole

Shock robbed her of the ability to think Too caught off guard to close her ed in mouthfuls of water as she sunk into the pool and the water churned above her

Her lungs burned and wheezed as she squeezed her eyes tight Trying to resurface but only see to slip further down, panic overtook as she flailed underwater Her butt hit the botto

Squeezing her eyes shut, she shook her head frantically as the burn in her chest crawled up her throat and along the back of her skull She felt weird Like a thousand fire ants wereher skin and—