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“It’s probably nothing, I’m sure I’m imagining—” Emma tried to say, but Julie burst out before she could continue.
    “Holy crap! I think you’re bonded with them!”
    “What? No!” A wave of anxiety swept over her. She knew Julie was right, but she didn’t really want her friend pressing her about it.
    “You’re seeing both of them, right?” Julie asked, and Emma nodded. “And from what I’ve heard on the news, when people get those tattoos, they feel each other, can tell what they’re feeling or whatever.”
    “That’s crazy,” Emma said, sheer stubbornness making her deny what she already knew was happening.
    Julie reached out and grabbed her hands. “Look, so far we’ve heard about couples bonding. But what if you don’t have to be a couple? What if this thing bonds people who are compatible together, whether or not they already know each other?”
    “You can’t tell anyone!” Emma’s heart raced. She clutched Julie’s fingers tight. “I don’t understand what’s going on, and I don’t want anyone else to know.”
    Julie squeezed back. “Of course I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to. We’re friends, right? Hey, you helped me when I broke up with Matt, and that was definitely going above and beyond the rules of friendship considering what a blubbering mess I was. I won’t tell. Promise.”
    Emma nodded, relieved. “Thanks.” She smiled softly. Julie smiled back. “It’s just—” She broke off, trying to figure out a way to explain how unsettled she was without sounding like she was insane.
    Julie nodded. “I know. This all feels weird, like a dream, right?”
    “How did you know?”
    Julie laughed. “I can’t even imagine what it would be like to dream about Duncan and Jake then wake up and have those marks appear on your arm. I’d be ecstatic! But also a little freaked out. I mean, I like to choose who I’m going to fall in love with, you know? Does this mean that you don’t have a choice now?”
    Emma frowned. “That’s exactly what I’m worried about. And, well, I still think I’m going crazy.”
    “You’re not going crazy,” Julie retorted, shaking her a bit. Emma sighed, not telling her friend that she could still feel Jake and Duncan in the back of her head. Both men were there, and if she concentrated, she could tell what they were thinking. That freaked her out more than anything, because it was totally impossible.
    “Hey, wait,” Julie said as Emma tossed her limp salad in the trash. “If you’re actually connected to Jake and Duncan, does that mean they’re connected to you too?”
    “That’s how it works, I think,” Emma replied, her stomach growling.
    “Whoa. Can they hear us talking?”
    Emma stood up and looked down at Julie, her brow wrinkling as she concentrated. She felt both men stop their conversation and look inward. “Yeah,” she whispered, feeling Duncan and Jake’s attention inside like a physical caress. She shivered as the men smiled.
    “Um, wow.” Julie’s eyes widened.
    Emma grinned. “Jake thinks you’re cute,” she said, not knowing how she knew that but sure of her certainty nonetheless.

* * * *

    Jake lounged on the beat-up sofa backstage, closing his eyes and relaxing. He’d turned off all the lights except those that ringed the dressing table mirror, basking in the dim light though he knew he really didn’t have the time for it. If he concentrated, he could feel Emma puttering around her kitchen. He mused over how quickly he’d grown used to her in his head. What was not so easy to get used to was Duncan’s constant presence. They’d been friends for a long time, spent every day together, but even so, they’d never lived in each other’s brains before. There was no disguising the attraction Duncan felt for Jake, nor his iron self-control. Jake knew intimately how much their friendship meant to the other man, and finding out just how badly Duncan desired him was a shock. On the other hand,