Page 101 of Forged

Neomi shifts beside me, the movement pulling my attention back to the present. Her eyes open slowly, soft with sleep.

“Morning,” she says.

“Morning, Bella.”

She studies my face for a moment before pushing herself up onto one elbow.

“You look like you’re entirely too deep in your thoughts for this early in the day,”

I glance over at her and give a small shrug. “I do that sometimes.”

“Not like this.”

There’s amusement in her voice, the kind that tells me she already knows exactly where my mind has gone. I push myself upright against the headboard, dragging a hand through my hair while the city slowly wakes beyond the windows.

She watches me for a moment longer before speaking.

“Are you thinking about Gabriel?”

“Possibly,” I answer.

Neomi pulls the sheet around herself as she shifts closer, her expression thoughtful but calm.

“Tell me what you're thinking.”

I lean back against the headboard again, exhaling slowly. “Did you have fun last night?”

She nods. “I did, I feel comfortable with him.” She studies my face again before continuing, softer this time. “That’s not what you’re worried about.”

I raise a brow. “What do you think I’m worried about?”

Neomi’s gaze sharpens, the way it does when she’s reading someone across a poker table.

“You’re trying to decide if you trust him.”

She isn’t wrong.

“I don’t think he was lying about anything,” I say after a moment.

“But?” she asks gently.

“There’s still a lot we don’t know about him.”

The sunlight catches the curve of her shoulder as she shifts beside me, her fingers absently drawing circles on my chest.

“I like him, Lars.”

“I know.”

She gives me a look. “I think you do too.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“I watched you all evening. You went in with your guardup—and rightfully so—but by the end of the night, something changed.”

The memory of the kiss flashes through my mind again.

“He doesn’t feel like a stranger,” I admit.