Out of nowhere, Lena blurted, “If you’d been this smooth earlier, Jace wouldn’t have run off.”
It felt like she’d lost her mind for a second, because bringing up an ex in front of your current
boyfriend? Major no–no.
I stiffened for a second, but I knew Lena wasn’t trying to hurt me. She wasn’t clueless either. One
nce at her and I caught the mischievous wink she sent my way.
I got it–she was testing Hayden. She wanted to see how he’d react to hearing about Jace. ssic
Lena, always pushing boundaries.
Most guys would flinch at the mention of an ex, especially in front of their girlfriend. But I wondered,
How far is she gonna take this? What if she pushed too hard, and Hayden just decided to peace
out?
I risked a nce at him. His expression didn’t change. No flicker of annoyance, noment,
nothing.
Lena wasn’t about to let it go. “Right, Hayden? Don’t you think?”
I wanted to melt into the floor.
But Hayden just replied, “Kiki only gets clingy with me.”
A wave of sweetness filled the air, and just like that, Hayden nailed the moment with his perfect,
effortless reply. Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org.
Lena clicked her tongue. “You might look like a total science geek, but who knew you had such a
romantic side?”
“Quantum reactions in chemistry are always unique,” Hayden said casually. “It depends on how the
particlesbine.”
Trust Hayden to turn love into a science lesson. He was basically saying his romantic side only
existed because of me. ssic.
“No wonder Kiki fell for you,” Lena said with a thumbs–up.
My heart swelled. Meeting Hayden really was one of the best things that ever happened to me..
“Kiki, you know, you should probably thank Tanya,” Lena teased, giving me a yful wink.
I knew exactly what she was hinting at. “You’re right. If it weren’t for her drama, I never would’ve
met Hayden.”
I leaned my head against Hayden’s shoulder.
“Good thing I didn’t eat much, or this PDA would’ve made,me sick,” Lena joked.
“We’re just giving you a free lesson. Pay attention,” I shot back.
We were stillughing as we reached the hospital’s main entrance. But just as we were about to
walk in, I spotted Wayne.
He was heading toward another entrance, and for a second, I almost called out to him. But before I
could, ho turned away, walking straight toward the patient rooms.
It felt… strange, like we wereplete strangers now. A heavy feeling crept in, and it hit me just
how
Johnston family was fading.
much my connection with the O
Lena stuck around while Hayden and I picked up my test results. Thankfully, everything came back
normal.
Turns out, my random fever
was just from stress–go figure.
Lena had to bounce back to work, so Hayden and I went to check on Yuna. She looked kinda down,
probably because her surgery got pushed back.
I didn’t go all cheerleader on her, though. Instead, I casually switched topics. “Hey, there’s this
concerting up. Wanna go?”
Her eyes darted to Hayden. “Can I?”
With her heart condition, a lot of stuff was off–limits.
“I swear I’ll keep it chill,” Yuna said, holding up her hand like she was making a promise.
Hayden nodded. “We will go with you.”
“Yes!” Yuna squealed, wrapping her arms around me.
She was already buzzing with excitement, and honestly, it had me low–key stressed. If she was this
hyped now, what was she gonna be like at the actual concert? I started regretting bringing it up in
the first ce.
I shot a look at Hayden. He walked over and gave Yuna a yful tap on the head. “If you’re already
this pumped, how are you gonna survive the concert? Maybe you should-”
“I won’t overdo it, promise!” Yuna cut him off, raising her hand again. She even shook my arm for
backup.
I realized I’d opened Pandora’s box and wasn’t about to say anything else. Thankfully, my phone
buzzed, saving me. It was Ron.
I picked up and listened, ncing over at Hayden as Ron spoke.