“Try to beat me with a knife,” Silas growls, throwing a knife at the target before Sunny even has a chance to shoot, and it cracks in half. “Fuckers.”
“Always the jealous one,” Levi muses.
“Fuck you,” Silas growls.
“Enough with the talk,” Sunny says, handing him the shotgun. “Let’s see your moves, kid.”
“Kid?Kid? Who are you calling a kid?”
“I am, because I’m the oldest of us, so you all listen to me,” she retorts, winking.
“All right, senior citizen.” Silas loads more bullets.
“Wow, those two are going head-to-head soon, guarantee it,” Ivy mutters.
“Nah, this is how they always act, but they love fighting for the number-one spot,” Max replies.
“Speaking of number one … How’s it feel to be loved by the most cutthroat woman on the planet, Xav?” Atlas asks me all of a sudden, catching me off guard.
My cheeks light up, and I grab a cookie from the plate to stop it from spreading as I stuff it into my mouth. “Nothing’s different.”
“Nothing?” Sunny turns back to look at me, and I nearly quiver in my boots. “Sit.”
My butt immediately slams down onto the picnic table, and our family chuckles.
“He’s in deep, bro,” Heath says.
“We all are for our ladies,” Apollo says, grabbing a strawberry so he can stuff it into Aspen’s mouth. “Always listen to your lady.”
“That’s sound advice,” Atreus says, taking a sip of his beer while enjoying the sun.
“Xavier. Bullets,” Sunny barks.
I pick them up from the table and chuck them at Sunny.
“Good boy.”
The blush that follows is intense, but not as intense as the throbbing in my pants.
“She trained you real good,” my dad says, winking at me. “Proud of you, son.”
“Yeah, I’m proud of you, little brother,” Aspen says, nudging me with her shoulder. “I knew you could do it.”
“Oh what, like you didn’t find out weeks ago?” I reply.
“No. We all knew. For a very fucking long time, too.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“You saved yourself for her, right?” Melody says, casually looking up from her small painting.
I stare at her for a moment, blindsided by the comment. “Wh-what? How did you—”
“We’re your sisters,” Melody responds. “It’s our job to know everything about you.”
Well shit. I didn’t know they were that invested in my love life.
Aspen giggles. “It’s nothing to be ashamed about. You had your eyes set on the prize, and you finally went for it. Look at her … look what you managed to make yours.”
