All Chapters of Shortcake: Chapter 21 - Chapter 27

“Everyone told me,” Tony confessed, his voice muffled against her hair, the honesty he’d kept locked away for years. “Every time someone said I thought of you as something more than just Kyle’s little sister. I denied it. I’d get pissed, tell them they were crazy, but… the second you actually left, I realized I was just lying to myself.”“I spent weeks watching the bar door, waiting for you to walk in and steal my fries or roll your eyes at one of Kyle’s stupid stories,” he said, a faint smile touching his lips. “It took you being a thousand miles away for me to finally admit that I've been lying to myself, Shortcake. I don’t want anyone else.”Inside the house, Kyle peered out the kitchen window, watching the two shadows huddled together on the stairs. He shook his head, a wide, knowing smirk spreading across his face.He walked back over to where his parents were doing the dishes together. “What if I were to go out there and break up that reunion, how mad do you think Tony and Gemma

“Yeah, you look more like—what is Barbie’s little sister’s name?” Kyle teased.Gemma reached over, grabbed the sprayer from the faucet, and gave him a quick squirt.“Hey, hey!” Dee called out, her hands on her hips. “You’re getting my freshly mopped floors all wet.” She took the sprayer from Gemma with a mock stern look.Kyle smirked, triumphant. “You got in trouble.”Gemma ignored him as she finished peeling the potatoes. “Hey, where’s Tony?” she asked Kyle.“Last time I saw him, he was sprawled across my couch sawing logs. You kept him up most of the night.”“I came in early,” she smirked.“Yeah, early as in me shutting down the bar and driving all the way home.”“It’s such a long drive, Kyle,” Gemma teased. “And you shut the bar down at one last night because of the holiday.”“I’m going to go get him up—if the rest of us have to be up, so does he.” Gemma washed her hands and dried them off. She headed toward the door, and Kyle shook his head at her.“Gotta get your fix again this m

The air inside Denver International was chaotic and loud, but Gemma felt a strange sense of calm as she walked through the terminal. She had ignored three new texts from Chase since landing, but she didn't hesitate to pull up her contacts and hit Tony’s name.He answered on the first ring.“Wheels down?” Tony’s voice came through the speaker, instantly making the crowded, stressful airport fade away.“Safe and sound,” Gemma said, shifting her bag higher on her shoulder. “Though it is freezing here.”“Told you to steal another hoodie,” he teased softly. A beat of quiet affection passed between them over the line. “You got that Uber lined up yet?”“Getting ready to order it right now,” she promised, nearing the exit. “I'm just walking out to the pickup zone.”“Good. Text me when you get in the car, and text me the second you lock your dorm door.” She could practically hear the smile in his voice.“Ok I will. Bye, Tony.” Gemma laughedGemma hung up, a small smile playing on her lips. She

Chase was standing just inches from her, his shadow falling completely over her, when the sudden, sharp rattle of a key in the deadbolt broke the silence.Instantly, Chase stepped back. The cold, predatory look vanished from his face, replaced in a split second by the polished, phony smile he used to charm everyone else on campus.The door swung open, and Freddy bustled in, wrestling an overstuffed duffel bag and a travel mug through the frame. She looked up, brushing a strand of hair out of her face, but her bright smile faltered the second she took in the room. The suffocating, heavy tension in the air was so thick it practically choked her.Freddy’s eyes darted between the two of them. She looked at Gemma, who was visibly rattled—pale, backed against the dresser, and trembling slightly—and then over to Chase, who stood entirely relaxed, playing the part of the picture-perfect, all-American male flawlessly.Freddy dropped her bag heavily onto the floor, her protective instincts imme