Page 23 of Ace

Kody felt something flutter in his stomach and knew he was smiling as he nodded at Ace. Knowing Ace would be waiting for him at home tonight might just be what would get him through this dinner.

Kody

Sitting in his car for ten minutes, trying to work up the courage to go into his own parents’ house was, to put it mildly, humiliating. He was an adult. He should act like it.

He took a deep breath and reached for the door handle. He drew his hand back before he could touch it. Jesus. Fucking. Christ.

Maybe he got lucky, and Ruben was sick or couldn’t make it?

Yeah, right. He’d never had that kind of luck.

“Get it together,” he mumbled to himself.

He got out of the car and was halfway up the driveway when he hesitated again. Yup. That was definitely Ruben’s car right there. Fuck. He would just have to act mature and ignore the man all night. That wouldn’t end badly. Not at all.

He got his feet to move again and when he reached the front door, he raised a fist and knocked, then pulled a face at himself. Why the hell was he knocking?

He sighed and opened the door, stepping inside just as his mother appeared in the hallway. Her smile turned into a frown of disappointment.

“You’re late.”

“Sorry, Mom.”

She shook her head and then her smile was back as she wrapped him up in her arms.

“I’m glad you could make it, sweetheart,” she said as she pulled back.

“Like you gave me a choice,” he muttered, grinning when she tsked at him.

He followed her into the living room.

“Look who finally managed to make it to family dinner,” Mom said.

He froze in the doorway when all eyes turned to him. Only half of them seemed happy to see him. Mainly his dad and Katelynn’s two kids. His youngest siblings were giving him the stink eye while Katelynn was watching him closely, her husband completely oblivious as he was busy devouring Mom’s home-baked cookies. Not that he could blame him.

Then there was Ruben. He didn’t know if Ruben was looking at him because he sure as fuck wasn’t looking at Ruben. Though from the hair at the back of his neck standing on end, he figured Ruben was glaring at him as much as Amanda and Olivia were.

Miley was the first to reach him, her big brother Noah right behind her and he was happy for the distraction even if it only lasted about twenty minutes before Mom made them all sit down at the dining table.

He didn’t speak throughout dinner and thankfully, no one asked him any questions. Though that also meant hearing all about what Amanda and Ruben had been up to. He blocked out the conversation as much as he could and tried to concentrate on his food which was probably why he got an elbow to the ribs.

He snapped his head up to glare at Katelynn who gave him a get-your-act-together look as she motioned with a tilt of her head toward their mother. He tried not to grind his teeth too hard as he turned to look at Mom who was watching him expectantly.

“Sorry, Mom. What did you say?”

“I asked if you’ve found someone special, too?”

His heart stuttered in his chest. What did she mean, too? Had one of his sisters gotten a boyfriend or was it Ruben?

“Oh. Um…” He hesitated for a moment, then decided to hell with it. “Yeah.”

His mother’s face lit up and she put her elbows on the table as she leaned forward and said, “Well, do tell.”

“Right. Uh. Well, his name is Ace. He drove his bike straight into our truck and I had to throw myself on the ground to catch him before he hit the truck along with his bike. The bike got damaged but aside from maybe a slight concussion, Ace was fine. We both were.”

Mom was looking at him with wide eyes and her brows raised.

“Uh. We?”

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