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“I thought you wanted me to make my pasta salad.”
“Nope. You’re going to teach me how to make your pasta salad. I’m doing all the work.”
“Oh, brother.” I laugh. “This is going to be interesting.”
“Hey! I can cook.”
“I know. I’m just teasing you. Your mom made sure you all could survive on your own. But none of you have ever cooked for a group this size.”
“There are ten of us, counting Deacon. I’m sure we can figure it out. Besides, I said we were doing all the work. Not that we wouldn’t need instructions.” He winks, then turns and walks out the door.
* * *
Twenty minutes later, I’ve unpacked both of our bags, placed our toiletries in the bathroom, and set off to find the rest of the group. I find them all on the back patio. “Wow.”
“It’s perfect, right?” Palmer asks.
“Can we stay here forever?” I ask, only half joking.
“You’ve got my vote,” Jade says.
“Are you starting the party without us?” Declan asks as he and Kennedy step out onto the patio.
“Just getting started,” Brooks tells him.
“Now that we’re all here, I’d like to introduce everyone.” Ryder glances over at the girl standing next to him. She has long brown hair with blonde highlights. She has a worried look in her eyes, but that’s to be expected. There are a lot of us.
“I’d like you all to meet Jordyn. Jordyn, this is my family.” He waves his hand in a circle at all of us before he moves to start pointing each of us out, calling us by name. We all wave and tell her it’s nice to meet her. “I know there are a lot of them.”
“You’ll get to know us in no time,” Ramsey assures her.
“It’s nice to meet all of you. Thank you for inviting me.”
“We’re glad you’re here,” Orrin tells her.
“All right, so I’m starving,” Maverick announces, making us all laugh.
“Right.” Declan nods. “You ladies, go and… do whatever it is that you do when you’re hanging out, and we’ll take care of the food.”
“Babe, you sure you don’t need help?” Kennedy asks him.
“Nope. It’s ladies’ weekend. We’re doing all the work,” Declan tells his wife.
“What?” Palmer asks.
“We talked about it a few days ago. We decided that the ladies get a break this weekend, and the men are taking care of everything.”
Ramsey opens her lips to say something, but Palmer places her hand over her mouth to stop her. “Let them. The men have spoken.”
“Damn right,” Brooks tells his wife. “Now go.” He kisses her on the temple.
“I can stay back and help,” I tell them.
“Nope. You and Jordyn are included in this. It’s been decided,” Ryder tells me. He gives me a look that I take as pleading. I get what he’s asking without him having to say a word. He wants me to take care of Jordyn to make sure she’s included. As the only other person here who is not a Kincaid, I understand why. They can be a lot to take on. Don’t get me wrong, everyone is nice and welcoming, but sometimes it’s easy to let yourself feel like the outsider that you are.
I will never be a member of this family beyond being Sterling's best friend. I’ve accepted that. I also hope that when I do find someone to spend the rest of my life with, that they have a family as loving and as accepting as this one. Then again, they’ll have to. I refuse to settle for anything less. Being best friends with Sterling Kincaid since I was a kid has shown me what I want.
“Well, all right then.” I move to stand next to Jordyn and link my arm through hers. “Alyssa,” I remind her. “That one’s best friend.” I point to Sterling. “Let’s go sit by the lake.”
