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bathroom. She came in and handed me a steaming mug of
aromatic liquid. Mom is a caffeine junkie and often makes different coffee
drinks for me in the morning.
    “I made you
a latte. I thought you might need one this morning.”
    I took the
mug gratefully and deeply inhaled the delicious aroma. Sometimes, I think the
smell of coffee is almost as good as drinking it.
    “ Ooooh , thank you. How did you
know?”
    Mom shrugged
one shoulder and said, “Oh, you know. I was making one for myself and thought
I’d bring one up for you, too.”
    “Oooo—kay,” I
said eyeing her suspiciously. She was up to something, but I knew she wouldn’t
come right out with it until she was good and ready.
    She walked back
to the door, pausing at the last moment to glance back at me. “You look really
tired. Didn’t you sleep well last night?”
    I grimaced. “You
wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
    She put her
hand on the doorknob. “You’d be amazed at what I would believe. I’m here if you
want to talk.” She closed the door behind her.
    Mom always
knew how to let me know I wasn’t alone, without smothering me. Unfortunately, I
couldn’t see how I could talk to her about this last dream. She had refused to
discuss them when there was one woman. What would she say now that there were
three—not to mention the mystery man?
    A headache throbbed
behind my eyes, and I rubbed my temples briefly before I finished getting ready
for school. That would be another adventure altogether.

Chapter 4
    Her Eyes
     
     
    It had been
a little over a week since Talon and Jace had transferred to our school, yet
they seemed strangely content to spend most of their time with Leah and me. I couldn’t
remember the last time I laughed so freely at school. I was typically so
worried about where the next crisis was going to come from, with Ryan usually being
the primary cause.
    When Leah
and I got to school each day, Talon and Jace were there waiting for us. Additionally,
we had at least one of them in each of our classes. We frequently joked about
our super-hot bodyguards.
    I noticed Ryan
and Tami seemed to be enjoying each other’s company, which was just fine with
me. Maybe if they focused on each other, they could leave me alone for a while.
It was nice to look forward to going to school.
    Thankfully, it
was Friday, and we only had to get through one more day before the party. Leah
and I typically rode to school together on Fridays; it was a symbol of the
start of our weekend.
    This morning,
mom was playing DJ, and had set up a special playlist for us. Sometimes that
woman cracked me up. I mean, how many people drove to school in the morning
with their mom, listening to custom “TGIF” playlists?
    Leah and I
were sitting in the backseat, bouncing around and enjoying life in general. When
we pulled up, Talon and Jace were doing their usual routine of propping
themselves up on whatever was nearby. They managed to make leaning look
positively hot. Leah and I made eye contact and sighed. Mom glanced over at
Talon, and he bent his head slightly toward her. At times, his mannerisms were
so foreign. It appeared as if he was bowing to her. Leah and I jumped out of
the car before they could come over and open the doors for us.
    Talon reached over with one
finger and caressed the delicate skin under my eye. “Did you not sleep well
last night?”
    Crap, him too? I couldn’t believe the dark circles were still showing; I thought I had covered
those up.
    I threw Leah
an accusatory look. She should have told me I had bags under my eyes. She examined
me, confused, shrugging her shoulders.
    Leah mouthed,
“I don’t see anything.”
    I couldn’t
really be mad at her though. Talon always seemed to notice things that other
people didn’t. Jace shot me a grin and threw his arm over Leah’s shoulder. Talon
put his hand in the middle of my back, and the now familiar heat spread
throughout my body, soothing every nerve. He let out a low growl and my cheeks