Chapter 57
Josephine
“You just let them go to a stranger’s house to spend the night?” Kylian asks.
Locke and I share a knowing look. K is not going to appreciate this line of questioning.
The girls have been gone for an hour, but we’re still hanging out around the table after dinner.
Locke and Kylian insisted that since Mrs. Lansbury was charged with dropping off the twins, they’d take over dinner duty.
They grilled steaks and vegetables, then made enormous baked potatoes with all the fixings, plus a dish of rice pilaf for Nicky.
The girls gobbled up their food in a hurry, but Kendrick made them sit with us until it was time to clear the table.
He may or may not have cut into his steak at a painfully slow pace just to mess with them.
Once we devoured our dessert—peach cobbler with huge scoops of ice cream—he sent them on their way.
It feels good to sit around the table with my guys without worrying about cameras or busy schedules. Wrapping my arm around Nicky’s bicep, I nuzzle into his shoulder and breathe in the familiar scents of sugarcane and mint. He shoves back his chair and hauls me into his lap before I can exhale.
This is what we needed. This is what’s been missing for weeks.
Time together. Time to just be.
The time-out was the right call. I’ve never been more grateful for a storm.
Kendrick scowls and raps his knuckles twice on the table. “Hold up. What makes you think I didn’t do my due diligence?”
Kylian scoffs. “You didn’t ask for my help.”
“They’re eight-and nine-year-old girls, Kyller. Not sure you’d be able to dig up much about them on the dark web.”
I smile into Nicky’s chest as Kylian opens his mouth to bicker.
And they like to say I’m sassy.
Leaning back in his chair, Kendrick crosses his massive arms over his chest. “You underestimate me. I called the parents this afternoon. Asked my usual questions—who would be at the house and their ages, including siblings. What the sleeping arrangements are. Who’s staying up with the girls.
All that. Their answers checked out. There are only five girls in total.
All from the girls’ school. Plus,” he adds, “Jade’s an awful liar and has no poker face.
If anything questionable goes down, I’ll know. ”
Kylian squints, unconvinced. Or maybe he’s just insulted that K didn’t ask for his help. Either way, he eventually nods. That’s all the approval he’s going to give, apparently. Not that Kendrick’s asking for it.
“Hey, wait.” Locke shifts me in his lap and sits up, brightening. “We should play poker. Do you know Texas hold ’em, Hot Girl?” He runs his hands over my hips and around to my stomach.
Dropping my head back on his shoulder, I cock a brow at him. “Do I know how to play poker? Yes. Will I sweep the floor with you before the night’s over? Also yes.”
A cacophony of disgruntled disagreement fills the kitchen.
“If you’re all so confident, then let’s do it. We could even up the ante and play strip poker,” I suggest, looking at each of my guys with a wicked grin.
“I’m a mathematical genius on the brink of earning an honors degree in statistics. You’ll all be naked before I’ve removed my sweatshirt,” Kylian pronounces, sitting up straight in his chair.
Oh, it’s on.
Kendrick rises from the table, rubbing his hands together. “Easy, Daddy Genius. If our girl claims she’s got skills, then we owe her the benefit of the doubt.”
“You can’t just ‘have skills’ in poker,” Kylian counters. “You can have discipline. You can develop a strategy and rely on standard deviation to determine—”
Locke reaches over and hits Kylian with a playful punch.
“Bro. Flip the switch. We don’t need a lecture on probability right now.
Joey wants to play strip poker. As in, clothes are coming off, no matter what.
If you want to run your mouth, stop the nerd talk and dish up some of your signature dirty talk. ”
Kylian raises both brows, giving Nicky a pointed look. Then he sets his sights on me.
Arousal swirls low in my gut as he stares me down. The switch has officially been flipped.
Game. On.
Crooking two fingers, he juts his chin and beckons. “On the table, Jo. Crawl to me.”
Liquid heat pools in my belly, and instantly, I’m a moth to the flame. Under his spell, I rise from Locke’s lap and place both hands on the table.
“Oh, hell yeah.” Kendrick pushes back and rises from his seat. “I’ll find cards and grab drinks. What are you having, Mama?”
Before I can answer, Kylian clears his throat.
I whip my head around to tell him to wait his turn and practice a little patience, only to find his eyes no longer on me. Instead, they’re hard, ice blue and piercing, and fixed on the opposite side of the room.
Heart lurching in my chest, I lift my hands off the tabletop and spin.
“Decker.”
The sight of him instantly sends my heart plummeting to the floor. His shoulders are slumped, his eyes sunken, and his skin stretched taut. He looks exhausted, tormented. So unlike himself.
“I’m just grabbing food.” He glances at me, then turns to Kylian. “I planned to wait until you were done in here, but it’s getting late…”
“Of course,” I insist softly, sliding off the table. “There are leftover steaks and potatoes in the fridge. You can eat at the table and join us if you want.”
“Jo,” Kylian scolds. “You don’t have to give him the time of day.”
Spinning on my heel to face him, I plant my hands on my hips. I take a deep breath in, tempering the annoyance bubbling up inside me. “I called a Time-out this morning.” Then I turn back to Decker. “Grab some food. We’ll sit with you while you eat. We were planning to stay up a while anyway.”
Kylian makes a noise of protest, so I shoot him a warning look.
Kendrick sidles up beside me, grazing along the curve of my waist and gripping my hip. “You’re good?” he double checks, his low tone soothing and supportive.
Nodding, I peer up into his deep brown eyes. “I’m good,” I promise. “We’ll play later.”
“Yeah, we will.” He strolls deeper into the kitchen to fetch our drinks.
Behind him, a despondent Decker follows.