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It’s dinner time on a Friday, and I’m still working.
I guess that could be one of my issues.
You’d think Hudson’s siblings would be busy running their freaking empire because King Corp definitely falls into the empire category. But no... Not these people. “Becket and Lenny swung by at lunch to check in,” I continue my rant, deciding I’m fired up and not even close to done yet. “And... I may have also overheard a conversation earlier between Hudson and Sawyer. And I know that there’s been a group text happening because he’s either grumbled over it or laughed about it all day. All day, Carys. All freaking day. How do they get anything done?”
She peers over the top of my MacBook, trying hard not to laugh at me. “Mads, you and Daphne look at this differently than I do. I come from a big family. This is what we do. I’m used to it. We may not be as...involvedin each other’s lives as the Kingstons, but my family chat blows up on a daily basis.”
“Says the woman who married her stepbrother.” I can’t help but tease her.
“Best move she ever made too.” Cooper walks into the room and drops a kiss on top of his wife’s head. “Right, baby?”
She rolls her eyes before tilting her head back to kiss him.
And that’s when I melt.
That... That’s what I want.
That easy kind of love.
The kind you work your butt off to get, then bask in for the rest of your life.
“Whatever you say.” She sighs, then sips her wine. “Where’s Hudson?”
Coop takes the glass from her for a sip, then hands it back. “He’s on the phone. Sawyer called.”
“Told you,” I laugh as the man in question shuffles gingerly into the room, grumbling, with his crutches tucked under his arms. I don’t miss the tension holding his body hostage before he sits on the arm of the couch next to me.
He tugs a strand of my hair until I turn around to face him. “What did you tell them, sunshine? Are you giving away all my secrets?”
“I don’t know any of your secrets.” Even if I wish I did.
And damn him for that.
“Carys...” Hudson turns his attention her way. “Sawyer just told me Six Day War is doing a surprise set at Kingdom tomorrow night.” He lifts his brow. “Happen to know anything about that?”
Her smile grows a mile wide. “I wasn’t allowed to say anything until they were sure they were coming.” Six Day War is one of the biggest bands in the country right now, and Carys knows them well.
She lived with them and sang with them back when she was in college.
The lead singer’s sister manages the band and is one of Carys’s best friends.
They’re also my favorite band.
I squeal like a lunatic and look between Carys, Cooper, and Hudson. “Oh my God. Please say we’re all going Saturday. I’ve been dying for them to come to Philly again.”
“Since my brother owns the bar they’re playing at, I’m pretty sure I can get us in, sunshine.” Hudson’s being sarcastic, but I don’t care because I want to see them again so badly. They played at Cooper and Carys’s wedding last year, and to see them in that small venue was all it took to make me a fan for life.
The doorbell rings, and Cooper steps out of the room to grab what’s hopefully our dinner and not another Kingston sibling. “Do you think you’ll be okay to go to the bar this weekend?”
“You worried about me, Maddie?” His words are a step above a whisper, which does crazy things to my body.
I stare into the depths of his cobalt eyes, lost for a second.
Of course, I’m worried about him. He’s my friend. Even if this feels like more.
Carys stands with her empty wine glass and clears her throat. “More like she’s worried Cade will kick her ass if you screw up your leg any worse, Hud.” She holds her glass up to me. “You sure you don’t want any?”
I shake my head and wait for her to go into the kitchen, so it’s just Hudson and me still in the room. “How are you feeling? You guys were in the gym for a while. You’re supposed to be taking it easy.”
