Page 46 of Wilde About You

"Five," I nodded. "Top five."

She pulled the hood up and stomped toward the steps.

"All right, finest ass this side of the—" I followed her.

"You're getting closer," she called.

"Finest damn ass in the world," I said.

She held open the screen door for me. "And here I thought a Wilde boy would be untrainable." I walked past her, and she grabbed my ass.

"Hmm, mine might just be number two cuz yours is pretty damn nice, Colin Wilde."

"Shit, if I had a dollar for every time a gorgeous woman held my ass and told me that." She laughed wildly and hopped onto my back for a piggyback ride to the kitchen.

twenty-three

. . .

Sadie

Iwas sure that never in a million years would anyone in the world have guessed that Finn Wilde was a chess player, and a pretty damn good one at that. Colin said he took it up when he got older because in his words "there wasn't shit to watch on television". Zander's girlfriend, Nev, taught him how to play, and he learned strategies on YouTube. I'd met Nev briefly when she brought sandwiches from her shop. The sandwiches were delicious, and I liked Nev instantly. I loved that the family shied away entirely from pretense. They were genuine, honest, blunt and no one took themselves too seriously. The absolute opposite of my family, where pretense and putting on a good show had overtaken our family like a black plague.

Finn had his forearms resting on his thighs as he leaned forward to study the board. His jaw and facial features were weathered and hidden under lines and creases, but it was easy to see that he was a very handsome man. Possibly even more handsome than his sons, which said a lot. He didn't wear heavy cologne like my dad, and his thick hair was always in disarray.

"I think you got me, sweetums. I can't find a way out of this mess."

"Ya going to tip your king?" I asked.

He shook his head once. "Nope, give an old man a second. I'm usually pretty damn good at getting out of tight situations."

Colin laughed. "You can say that again." He was sitting on the couch, staring at his laptop and researching new teams.

"Taught you all how to do the same, didn't I?" Finn asked in his gruff, hoarse tone.

"One of every child's most cherished life skills. Learning how to get out of a tight situation." Colin blew out an exasperated breath. "That skill isn't helping right now though. I'm not a good match for any team."

Finn straightened. "And what else did I teach you about putting your trust in others?"

Colin looked at me. "I'm about to be humiliated, so please, plug your ears. You said only trust your family. Everyone else will fuck you in the ass before you even bend over."

I pressed my fingers to my mouth to stifle a laugh.

"And he told me that when I was ten and a supposed friend had informed on me about an unfortunate incident with matches in the boys' bathroom."

I raised a brow at Finn.

He shrugged his thick shoulders. "Wanted to get my point across, and of course, I leave pretty girls who slay at chess out of the not-to-be-trusted pool."

"Actually, my admonishing expression was because your son had an unfortunate incident with matches in the bathroom, and you chose to focus on the fact that his friend betrayed him. Which sucked too but I'm not sure if it's up there with possibly burning down a school."

Finn waved his big hand. Everything about the man was oversized, even though he was obviously more withered and weathered than in his youth. He was still focused on the game board. "The janitor had it out before it spread past the trash can. Aha, wait a minute." His hand hovered over his king, then he sat back hard on the chair. "Shit."

Colin's phone rang. He glanced at it. "That's the Sycamore Winter Gear team." He got up enthusiastically and answered the phone as he hurried up the stairs.

Finn looked up at me. "You won and winners have to make dinner."

"That seems like a rule you just pulled out of your ass."