"Don't do it," she says abruptly. "You'll regret it if you do."

After dropping that bomb, she steps off the curb and hurries to her car, leaving me open-mouthed and confused.

Before I can make sense of the warning, a low slung convertible sports car moves into my line of vision. Daniel smiles up at me from the driver's seat.

"Nice car." I peer at the interior. It's black and full of shiny dials. "Sounds like a beast."

"Thanks. Gift from the parents when I was sixteen. I was a little concerned when I heard it had four hundred horsepower. I wondered if my dad thought I needed to overcompensate for something."

I grin. That he has the ability to make a joke about himself makes me warm up to him. "And do you?"

"Ella," he tsks jokingly. "You're supposed to reassure me that I have nothing to worry about in the man department."

"How would I know?" I tease.

"Here's a secret." He leans across the console and gestures for me to come closer. "We males have very fragile egos. It's best to always compliment us so that we don't turn into psychopaths."

"You have nothing to worry about in the man department," I dutifully reply.

"That's my girl." He nods in approval. "Want a ride home?"

I straighten and scan the lot for Easton, the twins or even Durand, but it's empty of Royals except for Reed, who doesn't see me. His attention is on the angelic faery girl who reminds him of his mother.

Daniel tracks my eyes straight to the couple. "Abby and Reed," he muses. "That's a couple destined to be together."

"Why do you say that?" I sound annoyed and I am, but I wish I hid it better.

"Reed's picky, not like Easton. I've seen him with one girl the last two years. I think she's it for him."

"So why aren't they together?"

We both watch as Reed's head dips close to Abby's, as if they're about to kiss.

"Who says they're not?" Daniel's observations are careless, unintended to hurt me, but the pain spreads inside me anyway. "You give more thought to my proposal?"

My eyes shift away from Reed toward Daniel. Daniel is the quintessential rich boy. Kind of like what I thought the Royals would look like: blond hair, blue eyes and a face that probably adorns paintings in old English museums. The Royals are almost thuggish compared to his easy elegance. Any girl would be thrilled to be asked out on a date by Daniel, and I think it says something bad about me that I can't summon up any excitement for him.

"I'm kind of a mess right now," I inform him. "There's better-more together-fish in the pond."

He studies me for a moment. "I can't figure out if you're trying to let me down gently or if you aren't giving yourself enough credit. Either way, I'm not giving up."

I'm saved from making a response when a loud horn blasts behind us. We turn to see that Reed has maneuvered his Rover so close to Daniel's sports car that the fenders are nearly kissing. The juxtaposition between the two vehicles is almost laughable, with the Rover towering over the smaller two-seater convertible. It looks like the Rover is just waiting to drive right over the top of Daniel's car.

Daniel leans back into the driver's seat and puts his car in gear. With a mischievous glint in his eyes, he tilts his head toward Reed. "Someone is overcompensating but I don't think it's me."

With that, he peels away, leaving a space that Reed quickly occupies. Daniel's wrong. Reed has nothing to overcompensate for. His oversized SUV matches him perfectly.

"You going out with him?" Reed asks the moment I close the passenger door.

"Daniel?"

"Did some other guy ask you out, too?"

I wish he wasn't wearing sunglasses. I can't see his eyes. Is he mad? Frustrated? Pleased?

"No, just Daniel. And I'm thinking about it." I search his profile. "Any reason not to?"

A muscle in his jaw flexes. If he gives me the smallest opening, I'd take it. Come on, Reed. Come on.

He offers a brief glance before returning his eyes to the road. "I think we called a truce last night, right?"

I want it to be more than a truce, and the thought surprises me. A ceasefire is one thing, but admitting to myself-and to him-that I want to act on the attraction between us? That feels like a dangerous mistake.

"Yeah, something like that," I murmur.

"Then I'd be a dick if I told you not to go out with him."

No, I think, you'd be telling me you cared about me. "I don't think looking out for someone's well-being violates the spirit of our truce," I say lightly.

"If you're asking if he's going to hurt you, I'd say no. Haven't heard of him bragging in the locker room about girls he's hooked up with. I think everyone considers him a decent guy." Reed shrugs. "He's with the lacrosse team. Those guys tend to stick together so I don't know him too well, but well enough, I guess. If I had a sister, I wouldn't object to her dating him."

That's not my question! I shout at him in my head. Out loud, I poke at him from a different angle. "Are you and Abby getting back together?"

"We were never together," he says roughly.

"You looked kinda cozy just now. Daniel said you two are meant to be a couple."

"Did he?" Reed sounds amused. "Didn't know Daniel had that kind of interest in my love life."

"So Abby is part of your love life?" I'm a glutton for punishment with all these questions.

"What exactly are you asking?" He turns left and I can't see his face because of it.

Too embarrassed to press the topic, I slump back into the seat. "Nothing."

After a beat, Reed sighs. "Look, I'm going away to college next year. And unlike Gideon I'm not coming back every other weekend. I need time away from this town. This family. Abby and I had a nice time, sure, but she's not my future and I'm not going to dick her around-or anyone else, for that matter-just to get my nut off."

And there's my answer. Even if he is attracted to me-though I notice he was careful not to say it-he's not going to do anything about it. He's leaving as soon as possible. I should admire that kind of honesty, but I don't. Some silly part of me wants him to declare that if he wanted me bad enough, no principles would ever prevent him from having me. God, I'm a sick puppy.

I turn away from him and watch the city pass us by as Reed navigates home.

Finally, tired of the silence, I blurt out, "Why do you fight? Is it for the money?"

He releases a sharp bark of laughter. "Hell no. I fight because it makes me feel good."

"Because you won't let yourself sleep with Abby? So you have to go out and pound a few guys to get rid of whatever is building up inside of you?" The words slip out before my brain catches up.

Reed stops the Rover and I look around, surprised to see we're already home. He pulls off his sunglasses finally and stares at me.

My throat goes dry. "What is it?"

He reaches out and fingers a lock of my hair. His knuckles are inches away from my breast and it takes superhuman effort not to lean into his touch, not to press his hand fully against me.

"Do you really think it's Abby who's keeping me up at night?"

"I don't know." I hesitate. "I don't want it to be."

I hold my breath, waiting for him to answer, but all he does is drop my hair and grab the door handle.

Without turning back to look at me, he says, "Daniel's a good guy. Maybe you should give him a chance."

I sit in the car after he leaves so I can regain my composure. Neither of us explicitly stated it, but I know it's out in the open now. I laid my feelings out there and he told me to keep them. He did it in a nice way, but a clean knife still makes a painful wound.

Brooke is sitting poolside when I enter the house. She seems to have recovered from last night's drinking session. She's babbling away to Reed, who stands next to her lounger, stiff as a board, as her hand runs up and down his bare calf. I've seen her touching Gideon like that, too, and I wonder why the boys put up with that. I know they can't stand her. If there was one thing that Callum could do to repair his relationship with his sons, it would be to jettison Brooke.

Lonely and irritated, I seek out Easton, who's slumped on his bed watching a car show where they take it apart and put it back together so it looks like a cartoon vehicle.

"So we're trucing, huh?" He grins when he spots me.

"Is that even a word?" I ask as I walk into his room.

"It sounds like a word, so I guess it has to be."

"Douchetard sounds like a word, too, but I'm pretty sure you won't find it in the dictionary."

"You calling me a douchetard?"

"Naah. You're just a regular old douche."

"Aw, thanks, little sis."

"You know we're the same age, right?" I roll my eyes and climb onto the bed next to him. Easton rolls over to make room for me.

"I've always been older and wiser than my years."

"Uh-huh. Sure."

"Seriously, though. Reed says we're all cool now. Is this for real, or are you playing another game?"

"I was never playing a game to begin with," I grumble. "And yeah, I think it's for real." He looks more relieved than I expected. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you something. What do you think of Daniel Delacorte?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"He asked me out after he heard you kissed me. Apparently that was like the kiss of approval."

Easton waggles his eyebrows at me. "I'm magical, aren't I?"

"You're something." I throw a pillow at his head, which he catches and tucks under his chest. "Why did you kiss me?"

"I was horny. You were there. I wanted to kiss you." He shrugs and turns back to the television. Felt good. Wanted to. It's so simple for Easton. He's driven by his base urges. Eat, drink, kiss, repeat.

"Why'd you kiss me?" he counters.

My reasons seem more complicated. I wanted to make Reed jealous. I wanted to prove to myself and everyone else in that club that I was desirable. I wanted a warm, affectionate touch from someone-anyone. I guess my reasons aren't so different from Easton's, after all. "I wanted to."

"Want another go at me?" He pats his cheek in invitation.

Laughing, I shake my head.

"How come?" He's unfazed by my rejection.

"Because...just because." I avert my eyes.

"Nuh-uh, you're not getting off that easy. I want you to say it. Tell your big brother about your crush on your other big brother."

"You're imagining things. I'm not crushing on Reed," I lie.

"Bull."

"I'm not," I insist, but Easton sees right through me.

"Shit, Ella, I need a smoke every time you two are within five feet of each other." He grins, but almost immediately sobers. "Look, I like you. Didn't think I would but I do, and because I like you, I feel the need to warn you that we Royals are pretty fucked up. We're good in bed, but out of it? We're like a stage four hurricane."

"And Daniel?"

"He's a good guy. Isn't a slut like me. Guys on the lacrosse team like him. His dad's a judge."

"Any rumors about him?"

"Not that I know of. You planning on hooking up?"

"Savannah said-"

"You can't listen to a word she says," Easton interrupts.

I eye him suspiciously. "Why not?"

"She and Gid had a thing last year."