“To bed, bud,” Sam said a second later as I stood up. “Daddy’s gonna take you.” She said a second before her handsome husband appeared.
“Hey, Emerly,” Sid greeted. “Nice to see you.”
“Nice to see you, too. Welcome home,” I replied.
I tried like hell not to look around for Travis, but so far had only caught sight of Caden and Danny and another man I’d never met.
“It was kind of an impromptu thing, but I wanted you to be here,” Sam shared once Sid had whisked Hudson off to bed.
I was incredibly flattered that she’d want me to be a part of what was obviously an intimate get-together. “Thank you.”
I followed her through the living room and into the kitchen, where she poured me a glass of wine.
“Hey, Em!” Danny greeted as she joined us in the kitchen.
“Hi.” I smiled, accepting the hug she offered.
“Who’s the blonde?” a male voice inquired.
“The blonde?” I responded incredulously.
Sam waved a hand. “That’s just Theo. We only let him out of his cave on occasion.”
“Clearly tonight shouldn’t have been one of those nights,” I added dryly.
Theo let out a booming laugh, throwing his head back. “I like her.” He pointed at me before he grabbed a beer and left the room.
“Not sure I feel the same!” I called after him.
After Sam had stopped laughing at our exchange, she looked at Danny. “Trav should be here soon,” she shared before looking back at me. “We have to get the deets tonight. I feel like he met someone.”
My cheeks heated. I’d wondered if Travis had talked to his sister about us. Clearly he hadn’t.
I shouldn’t have come. This suddenly felt incredibly awkward.
“Let’s go out back,” she suggested, taking my hand and leading us out back to their beautiful backyard.
We made ourselves comfortable in their plush outdoor chairs, and ignored Caden and Theo’s debate about football. At least, I was fairly sure that was what they were talking about.
Sid emerged not long after, heading directly for his wife. “Hi, baby.” He grinned, pulling her to standing so he could take the seat and pull her into his lap.
“They’re always like this when he gets back,” Caden informed me with an eye roll.
“Good.” I smiled with a wink toward my friend.
“McAllister, thank God! You can help me convince this idiot that the Rams are going to pull it out this year,” Theo hollered, his gaze turned toward the house.
My heart pounded in my chest as I turned to find Travis standing in the doorway to their patio, looking more handsome than any man should.
His gaze met mine briefly before he looked at Theo. “You’re not gonna get much help from me there.” He chuckled, joining our group and taking the seat next to Caden, despite there being one open next to me.
I swallowed back the dread coiling in my belly.
“Trav, you’ve met Emerly, right?” Sam asked. “Hud’s teacher?”
“Sam, seriously? We gave you a ride that night you guys were blitzed.” Caden chuckled.
She smacked her forehead. “Of course. Duh.”
