Chapter 3

Ryan’s POV

“Won’t you invite us in?”

My mother’s voice snapped me out of the fucked-up spiral my brain was trapped in. I was just standing there like a damn statue, towel barely hanging on my hips, water still dripping from my chest while I stared at the one girl I never thought I’d see again. Anna.

My little sister.

I cleared my throat quickly, forced the tension out of my shoulders, and stepped aside like my body wasn’t shaking from the inside out. “Yeah… sorry. Come in.”

I didn’t look at her. I couldn’t.

But the second she walked past me, her scent hit me hard. Sweet, soft, and warm. It smelled like vanilla and strawberries. It smelled like trouble. I gripped the door handle so tightly I thought it might snap off, just so I wouldn’t do something fucking stupid, like reach out and pull her into me and bury my face in her neck.

“Give me a sec,” I muttered, already heading down the hallway before I could say something else. I needed c