Page 92 of Her Defiant Warrior

“How could I forget?”

“How many of his siblings have you met?” Lark asked.

“Malik, Gustavo, Ronnie, Kato, Amadi and Celeste all live in this area, so I’ve met them. I met Renzo and Angelica the first time I met Jase. Eleni is due for a visit along with his parents in two weeks, so that will put me up to nine, that’ll leave me with seven more.”

“I don’t know how his parents did it.”

“They’re still doing it,” Bonnie reminded them. “They have two girls still in college.”

“I forgot,” Lark said.

“I’m really looking forward to meeting Eleni and her tribe. Then there’s Bruno. Apparently, Jase, Bruno, Malik and Renzo were all thicker than thieves growing up.”

“Can I get you ladies anything?” Kostya asked as he wandered over from the grill.

Lark held up her empty soda bottle. “Another, if you wouldn’t mind, kind sir.”

“You’ve got it. And for you all?”

“I’m good,” Bonnie answered.

“Me too,” Jada responded.

“Mom! Mom! Did you see?” Lachlan raced up to her and flopped down at her feet. “Lucy is a Bore mouth.”

“Behemoth,” Amber corrected her brother. “It means he’s huge.”

“Why didn’t you just say he was huge?” Lachlan complained.

“Because you need to expand your vocabulary.” Amber looked past Bonnie at the table and found a tortilla chip she dipped in salsa and then popped into her mouth.

“Mom, I need a smartphone so I can take notes,” Amber said.

“I can buy you a small pad of paper and a pencil,” Bonnie offered.

“Why do you need to take notes?” Jada asked.

“Every time I’m around Jase, I have to create another org chart to keep everybody straight. I thought his family was bad, but all of his team members are a whole other pot of fish.”

“Kettle of fish,” Bonnie corrected.

“Yeah, that.” She turned around. “Hey Lachlan. Lucy has the rope in her mouth again. Let’s go.”

“Oh my God, you so have your hands full with your daughter,” Lark laughed. Her eyes were sparkling.

“I’d wondered how Jase ended up coaching little girls' softball. Now I know,” Jada smiled.

“Don’t try to get out of babysitting,” Bonnie looked at Lark. “Just because you’ve figured out my daughter is an evil genius, doesn’t get you out of your promise.”

“Not on your life. It’ll just prepare us for one of our own.”

* * *

Jase felt a bone deep sense of satisfaction having Bonnie and her kids staying at his house. He was glad he’d had the fourth bedroom made up with twin beds and two little desks. They’d been so excited they had their own little ‘place’ at his house. He didn’t expect this to last for long. Soon he’d arrange for them to have their own separate rooms, or he would just buy a bigger house. Bonnie had let it slip once that she’d always wanted a bigger family, and God knew he loved the idea of a large family. He thrived on chaos.

He pulled Bonnie closer into his arms. He loved listening to her just breathing. Doing what he did for a living… Well. It meant that you never took for granted the little things. Like having your lover sleeping in your arms. But he wanted her to be more than just a lover or a girlfriend. He wanted a wife.

She might have started out worried about his level of commitment, but he knew that his ‘All my Like’, girl was the one who still was holding a little piece of herself back. He was just waiting for that last wall to drop.