Chapter 19
The Hilux rolled to a slow, dust-churning stop inside the Compound’s gated parking lot.
Sunlight slanted through the olive trees’ branches, dappling the windshield with golden flecks that danced across Kelsey’s sleeping face in the backseat.
She stirred as the engine’s growl faded to silence, blinking up at the familiar terracotta roof tiles with the dazed confusion of someone pulled abruptly from deep sleep.
Her dark lashes fluttered against her sun-warmed cheeks, one imprinted with the faint ridge of the window seam where she’d leaned for most of the ride home from the zoo.
“Mm... we’re back?” Kelsey mumbled, rubbing at her eyes with the heels of both hands, her voice thick with sleep. A yawn stretched her mouth wide, revealing the gap where she’d recently lost a tooth. Glenna mourned the fact she hadn’t had the opportunity to be the tooth fairy.
The next one is mine.
She twisted in the passenger seat and reached back between the seats, her fingers finding the buckle of Kelsey’s seatbelt. “Yeah, baby,” she pressed the release with a soft click. “You conked out hard about five minutes after we left the pony ride. Didn’t even wake up when we hit potholes.”
One second Kelsey was sleep-rumpled and yawning, and the next, she was a blur of sun-tanned limbs and tousled hair as she yanked the door handle and tumbled out of the truck.
Glenna barely had time to call out a half-laughing, “Walk, don’t run—!
” before Kelsey was sprinting barefoot toward the courtyard.
Jules’s delighted shriek echoed off the stone walls as she spotted her friend, and launching herself up from where she’d been draped over Zombie with Chaos at her feet.
The puppy gave an excited yip and bounded after the girls, paws skidding on the smooth stone.
Tyrone was already out of the driver’s side before she could fully unbuckle herself.
He moved with that silent, unhurried prowl of his—like every step was deliberate, every motion precalculated for maximum efficiency.
His fingers closed around Glenna’s wrist before she could step fully out of the truck, his grip warm and firm as he tugged her toward the ivy-choked side of the building where the shadows pooled thickest.
She barely had time to register the scrape of the stone against her shoulders before his mouth was on hers.
This wasn’t the kind of kiss meant for public spaces in the daylight.
It was claiming, urgent, a kiss that made her forget how to breathe properly.
His hand cradled the back of her head, shielding her from the wall’s rough surface, while the other pressed flat against her hip, pinning her in place with just enough pressure to make her pulse stutter.
She fisted her hands in the fabric of his shirt, dragging him closer as his tongue swept against hers, tasting of dark espresso and sunlight and something uniquely him. His thigh slid between hers, and she bit back a sound at the friction as sparks raced up her nerves like tracer fire.
A sharp, indignant bark shattered the moment, and she whimpered as Tyrone broke the kiss with a low, gritted curse, his breathing ragged against her cheek.
His thumb brushed the corner of her mouth, wiping away the smeared remnants of her peach-tinted lip balm.
The look he gave her was molten hot and dangerous to her sanity.
“I wanted to do that all fucking day,” he admitted, “but I figured our chaperone would be a tattle-tell the second we got home.”
“You’re terrible.” Glenna huffed a breathless laugh, shaking her head. “But it would have been the first thing she said.”
His answering grin was full of mischief. “Mm. You like terrible.” The way he said it made heat coil low in her stomach all over again.
Tyrone let her go with one last searing look, his fingers trailing down her wrist before he turned and strode toward the war room.
Glenna exhaled slowly, willing the flush in her cheeks to cool before she joined the others. She still tasted him…dark roast and something raw… something hers.
Now you are just being stupid.
Mine… for now.
I’ll take it.
Kelsey’s laughter drifted from the terrace, high and bright, tangled with the chatter of the women and the occasional yip from Chaos.
Glenna followed the sound, rounding the corner of the villa toward the sprawling stone patio where ivy curled around the wrought-iron railings that surrounded the outdoor dining area.
Siobhán spotted her first, lifting her wineglass in greeting. “There she is. Thought we lost you to the big bad Marine Raider for the evening.”
Glenna rolled her eyes but couldn’t fight the warmth spreading through her chest. “He had something to do.”
Petra swirled her drink. “Oh, I bet he did.”
Jules and Ember were sprawled in the grass with Chaos, the pup gnawing determinedly on a frayed rope toy. Kelsey knelt beside them, her sundress streaked with dirt, her hair a wild tangle from the breeze. She glanced up, eyes shining.
“Mommy, Chaos knows sit now!”
The puppy promptly ignored the command, launching after the rope again.
Marissa snorted, reaching for the bottle of Prosecco. “Clearly a McKinley dog—zero impulse control.”
Serena passed Glenna a glass, her voice warm. “Sit. Drink. Tell us how the zoo was.”
Glenna sank into the offered chair, letting the tension seep from her shoulders. The women were a riot of mismatched energy, and yet, somehow, she wasn’t drowning in it. Just… floating.
Kelsey abandoned the puppy to climb into Glenna’s lap, all elbows and knees, sticky fingers clutching a half-melted popsicle. “The elephants were giant. And Uncle Zorro let me feed the birds.”
“Did he?” Chari arched a brow, exchanging a knowing look with the others.
“Yeah,” she nodded, “and I rode a pony, and it pooped.”
Petra howled with laughter. “Sounds like a perfect day.”
Glenna pressed a kiss to Kelsey’s sun-warmed temple, inhaling the scent of sugar and grass and the faint trace of sunscreen Tyrone had slathered on her at the zoo. “You’re a mess, baby.”
Jorja pushed through the terrace doors, balancing a tray of bruschetta and olives. “All right, who’s ready for snacks?” She stopped short, eyeing her and Kelsey. “You’re back.”
Kelsey wriggled free, bolting back toward the grass where Ember was now demonstrating a very questionable handstand where her feet didn’t leave the ground. Serena nudged the snack tray toward Glenna. “Eat. Before the gremlins realize it’s here.”
Glenna reached for an olive, pushing aside the quiet voice that whispered you don’t belong here.
Siobhán tilted her head. “You okay?”
Glenna swallowed, unsure how to answer. How to explain the weightless, terrifying feeling of wanting to stay?
Petra leaned in to whisper, “First time’s always the hardest.”
“What is?”
“Letting them be yours.”
A lump rose in her throat.
Jorja swirled her wine thoughtfully. “Gunnar dragged me in kicking and screaming. Pretty sure he was tempted to duct tape me to a chair, so I stopped trying to bolt.”
Marissa snorted into her glass. “Midas was so angry that he had to go save me. Then tried to act like I was some kind of inconvenient houseguest while we were at our house in the Dolomites.”
Siobhán smirked. “And now there are days when he’s under your feet and you want to kick him out of the house. Funny how that works.”
Glenna studied them. There was something about their easy camaraderie and the unspoken understanding in their shared glances that spoke to her soul.
These were women who had fought their way into this life, with teeth, nails, and more than a little stubbornness.
They’d found the loves of their lives and had happiness she could only dream of.
I had that kind of love once.
But now he’s gone, and I’m still struggling with the fallout.
It was rare that someone could find the kind of love these women had, never mind finding it twice.
She forced a smile, took a slow sip of wine, and pulled out her phone to give herself a minute to regroup her battered emotions.
She clicked onto TikTok to doomscroll, and a video popped up: How to Make Starburst Tequila!
She paused and watched the girl in the clip dump a bag of Starburst into a coffee maker, pour in tequila, and brew it.
That has to be fake.
“You all need to see this.” She turned the screen toward the others. Jorja snagged her phone and then passed it on from one to the other, watching it.
“No way that actually works,” Petra said.
Marissa pivoted to Serena. “One way to find out.”
“We’ll have to get the boys to watch the kids.” Chari reached for her phone. “I’ll message Levi in case this ends with us projectile vomiting pink slime. I don’t want Jules thinking her momma is a lush.”
Crap. I don’t have someone for Kelsey.
Would Tyrone do it?
He took us to the zoo and is probably tired of us.
Unable to resist the lure of doing something adult, with women she actually liked and could see herself being friends with, Glenna decided she had nothing to lose by asking. If he was busy, then she’d offer to babysit all three of the children.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she opened the text thread with him, and she tapped out a text.
Glenna: Tyrone?
Unknown Number: Yeah. Is everything okay?
Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Was it mega forward of her to ask him to babysit?
It was, right? But she also didn’t want Kelsey to be around if there was a lot of hard drinking going on.
Beer or wine was one thing. But experimenting with spirits and candy thanks to a TikTok video was a stretch.
There was only one way she would know for sure, and that was if she asked him.
Glenna: Are you busy?
The three dots in the text bubble appeared almost immediately as if he’d stopped what he was doing just to talk to her.
Unknown Number: Not right now. What’s wrong?
I should have guessed he’d think there is something wrong.