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Kenzie smiled at me. “How’s school going?”
“Great.” I forced a smile.
Nick curled his arm around Kenzie. “I should work on my project, too,” he teased. “But it will probably take forever and a lifetime to complete it.” He leaned in and kissed her. “I hope she’s in it for the long haul.”
“Baby, you know I am. I will stand by your side and take on any project with you.” She melted against him, and I felt both envious and embarrassed at witnessing them kiss intimately.
“Oh, brother,” Axel murmured and laid his hand on my lower back.
Thud. Thud. Thud. I jumped to see Roman standing outside on the back patio, banging on the sliding patio door with a dark look. He slid it open and stuck his head in. “It’s about time you got here.” He leveled a scowl at Axel, then turned his grumpy gaze on Nick. “I just bought sixty pounds of crawfish. You wanna help me with this, or am I supposed to be the one who always preps and cooks?”
“Come on. Let’s go help Roman before he gets his panties in a wad.” Nick rose from the couch, taking Kenzie with him.
I peered up at Axel as he guided me behind him. “Crawfish?”
“Yeah, we’re having a crawfish boil.”
“I’ve never had crawfish.”
“What? How could a Texas girl not have had crawfish?” He bent down and murmured against my ear. “Another first I’ll get to experience with you. Trust me, you’ll love crawfish.”
The guys carried in a ginormous cooler and set it down on the patio next to a large steel pot settled on a propane burner. Nick flipped the cooler open. “Look at these babies.” The cooler was full of live crawfish still moving around.
“That’s quite a lot,” I said, staring down in surprise.
“It’s really not, and we invited over a few friends.” Nick closed the lid.
“We did?” Axel drew his arm around me as if he needed to offer protection.
“Just a few guys from the team. Why do you care? You’re usually the one inviting people over all the time,” Roman said as he and Dmitri were securing what looked like a tarp made out of trash bags over a long, rectangular tabletop.
“It seems his priorities have changed, haven’t they?” Nick added with a sly grin.
A willowy blonde stepped out on the patio, dressed in black shorts and a Duffy’s T-shirt. Following her was a petite girl with raven hair who was obviously pregnant. I’d recognized them both, having seen them with the guys in passing but had never been formally introduced. They both looked at Axel and me with interest.
“Hi. I’m Sorina. Why don’t I know you?” She gave me a smile before shooting Axel a reproachful glance, as if he’d been keeping a secret from her.
“I’m Natalie, and I’m not sure I was supposed to be known.”
“It’s Axel’s project,zaychik,” Dmitri supplied as if he were being helpful. Was everyone in on this? Now, I was the one who shot Axel a reproachful glance, as well.
“Project?” she asked, laying a hand on her stomach. “What are you working on?”
I tried to pull away from Axel, but his hold was like an iron clamp. Forcing a smile, I said, “I’m contemplating how to make the perfect exit.”
“Oh, no. You must stay and enjoy the crawfish,” Blondie said. “I’m Theo, by the way.”
“Of course, she’s staying. We still have a lot of work to do.” Axel’s face lit up pleasantly. He was so manipulative and full of shit. Why did it make my heart pump faster, regardless?
“Natalie,” Kenzie piped up, taking my hand, “why don’t we go grab something to drink?”
“Yes. Let’s.” Axel nodded toward the door, keeping me by his side.
“Seriously?” Kenzie eyed him as if he were crazy.
“She’s not going anywhere without me.” Everyone’s eyes shot to him, and he shrugged unapologetically. What was with him?
Finally, Axel must’ve realized he was being overbearing and relented. “Don’t stay gone long.”
