The Legend of the Eight: The Twisted (Book 3)

7: Daddy's Girl

Drew smiled but she couldn't see it. In fact, the way he looked at her was unlike anyone had ever looked at her before. He was a man in love and each day, he fell further and further. There wasn't a single person in the Three Realms more precious to him.

For him, it was her. It was always her.

"You know," Drew said after a minute of watching and loving her. "That doesn't freak me out one bit."

She turned her head to look at him and bit her lip as she smiled. "Seriously? Drew Briggs isn't freaked out by talking about the future?"

He shook his head proudly.

"Not one bit, darling. In fact, I kind of like the idea of settling down. We may be young but when you know, you know."

Hearing him say those words filled her with warmth and she kissed him quickly.

"What?" he asked as she giggled after the kiss, dropping her head and leaning it against his chest.

She knotted his fingers around his.

"I just love you, that's all."

THE FOLLOWING MORNING, PHOEBE WOKE up in Drew's bed with his arms around her. He snored softly and she checked the time on his phone which was propped up on the nightstand charging. Seven-oh-two. The house was quiet and she assumed the others were still asleep so she opted to stay in bed a little longer.

Around seven-thirty, the phone on the nightstand began buzzing with an alarm and Drew woke suddenly to shut it off. He pecked the side of Phoebe's head with a kiss and then stretched, freeing his arm from beneath her.

"I was going to go for a run," he said in a soft, scratchy voice, brushing strands of her light brown hair out of her face. As he did, he revealed that single highlight—in a pastel purple color. She'd had the piece all her life and no amount of dye would change it to match the rest of her hair. Eventually, she stopped trying with it and let it be.

"I'll come too," she agreed, sitting upright in the bed. As she did, the tee shirt she was wearing—one of Drew's which was much too large for her tiny frame—brushed against the tops of her knees and she shifted her weight between her bare feet. The hardwood floor creaked beneath her and she looked over at Liam's bed again. He was beginning to stir awake as well.

Clearing her throat, Phoebe said, "I'll go change."

She left the boys' room and walked downstairs to her room—where Wil was still in bed, sleeping soundly. On the pillow beside her head, the princess's phone was alight with a recent notification and Phoebe crept across their floor quietly, making her way to the walk-in closet by the back. Inside, the closet was divided into two sections—one for each girl—though Wil's (with enough couture and designer pieces to stock a Saks) was slowly creeping into Phoebe's half which was more athleisure than Fashion Week.

After changing into a pair of gray Nike running shorts and a long-sleeved tee with the Academy's crest on the left chest, Phoebe swiped her favorite sneakers up and then quietly slipped out of the room.

Downstairs in the kitchen, she met Drew and Liam (both outfitted appropriately for the run) and to her surprise, Kate was there as well. She was in the middle of pulling her honey blonde hair up into a ponytail when she saw Phoebe and smiled.

"Liam's training me," she said to explain her presence there, stealing a brief glance at the handsome Heart boy. "In order to handle some of the more powerful spells."