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I remember how tightly he’d been holding Willa’s hand. “She break your heart?” If that bitch had hurt my friend I’ll personally end her!
“More like I broke both of our hearts,” he mutters, running a hand over his face before standing. “I’ll tell you about it some other time. I’m going to head home and grab a few more hours of sleep before I hav
e to go to work.”
I stand and follow him to the door, hating the way his shoulders slumped in defeat. Before he steps over the threshold I hug him. “Remember that no matter what, I still love you, Spider. Okay?”
His arms tighten around me for a second before he steps back and offers me a forced smile. “Love you too, Rave.”
I wait until he’s on his hog before shutting the door and heading for the kitchen. Colt, Raider, Tanner, and Matt are sitting at my kitchen table with Willa and the cutest little girl I’ve ever seen in my life. I freeze, taking every inch of her in.
Long, thick hair as dark as her father’s. Those same striking silver-blue eyes. That fucking smile! My breath hitched and I swallowed hard around the lump that was starting to form in my throat. In the blink of an eye my heart became invested in that little girl …
“There she is!” Tanner greets me with a knowing grin. “Finally get clean, Rave?”
Normally I would have shot him the finger, but Lexa’s gaze snaps to me as soon as Tanner speaks. I’m trapped in that gaze that’s so much like her daddy’s. My heart literally hurts as I wait for her to size me up as only daughters can when it comes to the women in their daddy’s life, fearing she’ll fine me lacking in some way.
After nearly a full minute, Lexa’s face relaxes into a smile, and she gives me a shy wave before turning her attention back to the pancake on her plate. I sneak a glance at Bash, who’s watching me closely. There’s a frown wrinkling his forehead but a smile teasing at his lips. “Morning, Raven,” he finally says with a wink.
“Morning.” It comes out practically as a whisper and I hurry to the table. There are only three seats left, one between Tanner and Raider, one between Willa and Lexa, and one between Lexa and Colt. No way do I want Bash sitting so close to Willa, so that makes my decision marginally easier to make.
I pull the chair out between the two newest additions to my family and carefully sit down. I’m not going to like Willa Blackstone. I’m not! So I ignore her as I watch Lexa carefully tear a piece of her pancake off with her fork and nibble on it. When I notice that she’s not eating syrup on it, I frown. “Don’t you like syrup?” I ask before I even realize I’m going to speak.
Lexa’s hair falls back from her beautiful little face and her cheeks fill with pink before she finally shakes her head. “It might have nuts.”
“Oh …” I whisper.
“Lexa has a nut allergy,” Willa comments from my left, and I turn my head to find her giving me a small smile. “I hope you don’t like peanut butter, Raven. Because she can’t even touch the stuff.”
My eyes widen and I turn back to the little girl who looks almost embarrassed. I shake my head. “I never could stand peanut butter,” I tell the three year old, who relaxes immediately. “It gets stuck to the roof of your mouth and it takes forever to get off.”
“Daddy threw away a whole bunches of stuff when we got here,” Lexa informs me with a quick glance at her father. “And gots all new stuff just for me.”
“That was very nice of your daddy,” I murmur. “He must love you very much to make sure that all the food is safe for his pretty little girl.”
Lexa beams at me. “He does!” Then her eyes widen. “You think I’m pretty?”
“Of course!” I exclaim. “Doesn’t everyone?”
“Not Bobby McMillian,” Lexa sighs. “He says I am too ugly to be his friend.”
“Lexa!” Bash mutters. “I told you that Bobby is too ignorant to even know what being beautiful means. And you don’t have to worry about that little creep ever again. You live here now … Okay?”
“’Kay, Daddy,” Lexa whispers before taking another nibble of her plain pancake.
I grin. “Well, it sounds like Bobby just has a crush on you, Lexa. Little boys are always mean to the girls they really like at your age.”
“Ewwww!” Lexa makes a gagging face causing everyone at the table to laugh. “He’s gross. Bobby doesn’t wash his hands when he uses the bathroom.”
“What? How disgusting! Good thing your daddy brought you to live here. All the little boys I know always wash their hands after going to the bathroom.”
I feel Bash’s heat against my back before he leans forward to place a plate of pancakes and bacon in front of me. “I love you,” he whispers against my ear before stepping back.
Gooseflesh pops up all over my body, and I can’t contain my shiver from his touch. Clearing my throat, I reach for the dish of powdered sugar in front of me. “Thanks.”
Everyone is mostly quiet around me as I practically inhale half my plate of food. When I realize that someone’s missing I glance at Raider. “Where is Hawk? He doesn’t normally sleep this long so I know he isn’t in bed.”
“Gracie had a morning class. Apparently one of the creeps from the party is in the same class. She tried to make it sound like it didn’t bother her, but Hawk couldn’t stand it. So he followed her not long after Flick picked her up.” Raider shrugs. “I figure he’s going to stalk her all morning or maybe even sit through her class with her.”
