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Holding up the buns, I furrowed my brows. “Hot dog buns?”
Thad laughed and opened up a small ice chest that had hot dogs, some mustard, and cheese in it. “Dinner!” he exclaimed.
Phoebe jumped and clapping her hand. “Oh my gosh, we can cook them over the fire!”
You couldn’t help but smile at Phoebe’s excitement.
Thad smiled and said, “If we can find a stick. Bundle up, baby. Let’s go exploring outside.”
Thano walked up and looked at me with those dark green eyes of his. “Lift up your arms.”
Something in his voice had me doing what he said almost automatically, which was not like me at all. My lips opened and I wanted to argue, but a small part of me was wishing he would pick up where he left off.
When he held up a sweatshirt, I started laughing. Looking up as he put it on, I closed my eyes and welcomed the warmth of it. My stomach dipped as I was overcome with the smell of Thano’s cologne.
Oh dear God. I’m keeping this thing.
“I had it in the trunk of my car and somehow I was able to get it open enough to reach in for it.”
I loved that he thought to look in his car for something for me to wear. I wasn’t used to a man actually caring about my well-being.
“Lucky me,” I whispered, as I lifted it to my face and took in a deep breath while Thano turned and started unpacking the rest of the food.
Phoebe and Thad were in the living room laughing about something. I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy. It was clear Thad cared deeply about Phoebe. The way he loved on her made me swoon.
“They’ve been dating off and on for a few years.”
Peeking up, I watched as Thano watched the interaction between his brother and Phoebe.
“That’s what she told me. Why have they not committed to one another?”
I was prying, but I couldn’t help my curiosity.
Thano shrugged. “Not sure. I think it’s the age difference to be honest with you. Thad says Phoebe is immature.”
For some reason, I got very defensive of poor Phoebe. “She’s twenty-two. What does he expect?”
Holding up his hands in surrender he said, “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger. I honestly don’t know why he isn’t committing to her. All I know is he has fun with her, and maybe that’s all he cares about right now.”
With a smirk, I examined his face carefully. “What about you? No girl ever stole your heart enough to settle down?”
When his face turned white, I knew I had asked the wrong thing. I had totally forgotten he mentioned someone briefly before.
“I’m sorry,” I quickly added. “That’s not any of my business. I’m sorry I asked.”
Spinning around on my heels, I dashed over to Thad and Phoebe before Thano could utter a single word. From the look on his face, I was positive there was a girl out there who had stolen his heart and broke it. And that knowledge had my chest aching and my head spinning.
“Who wants to play a game? We can play charades!” Phoebe exclaimed.
Thad moaned as I laughed and said, “I’ll play!” I tried to sound more excited than I really was. The last thing I wanted to do was play a silly game, but if it passed time and it kept me from reliving the stupid mistake I just made with Thano, I’d play.
“Okay!” Phoebe said with a clap of her hands. “We need paper.”
Thad snapped his fingers and pretended to pout. “Oh, darn it. No paper. Looks like we’ll have to pass on the game we played in high school.”
Phoebe’s smile vanished and my heart broke for her. Although I kept it to myself, I had a notebook in my bag.
“I thought it was a fun idea to pass the time, Phoebe.”
Peeking over at me, she gave me a weak grin before sitting in front of the fire. “Thanks, Kilyn.”
I stole a glance toward the kitchen only to find Thano staring at me. Quickly looking away, I watched as Thad added more wood to the fire.
“We should probably bring in more firewood from the porch before it gets covered in snow,” Thano said walking up behind me. I could feel the heat coming from his body and I fought like hell not to look at him. My head and the ache between my legs were starting to argue with each other. One wanted me to keep my distance from Thano, the other wanted more.
So much more.
Thad threw another log in the fire before looking over to Thano. “We’ll stack some wood by the master bedroom door.”
“Are we all sleeping in there?” Phoebe asked.
Thad and Thano both snapped their heads over and looked at her. I tried like hell to hide my smile. Obviously Thad had no desire to have a slumber party with his brother and I knew why. He planned on getting lucky tonight.
