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“No family?”
“None worth sticking around for.” Before pity has a chance to twist her pretty face, I ward it off. “Willow and August are all I need.”
Luna ponders that for a moment, head tilted thoughtfully to one side. When she opens her mouth for another round, she’s interrupted by the door opening. “Don’t shoot,” a familiar voice hollers, “we come in peace. And we have wine.”
The man I mostly know as Coach Smith doesn’t see me at first. He’s too occupied complaining about the carseats in his grip, one clutched between each set of fingers. With a dramatic groan, he hoists them onto the counter, releasing them and shaking his red hands, and then, he spots me. He freezes. And the sense of comfort I only barely achieved over the last couple of hours evaporates.
“Oh.” Ben’s gaze darts towards the front door. “Hi, Sunday.”
I don’t know how but in my gut, I know why he doesn’t greet me with his usual exuberance. Why he shifts awkwardly, dropping to his haunches and busying himself scooping up the twins Luna told me about as an excuse not to look at me. I think Luna knows too because long before another voice booms through the house, she shoots me an apologetic wince.
“For the record,” Cass’ voice floods the room, bringing with it the strongest sense of foreboding, “I’m the one who bought the wine.”
It’s almost comical how quickly his entire demeanor changes when he catches sight of me. One glimpse and his easy smile dissipates. His whole body tightens. An invisible guard flies up. His face contorts in a glare, focused entirely on yours truly, and I can’t decide if I should clutch Pippa tighter for comfort or pawn her off on someone who Cass isn’t trying to make burst into flames with the sheer force of his eyeballs.
The choice is made for me when Pippa squawks her uncle’s name. With one mangled syllable, Cass softens. Crossing the room with long, tense strides, he carefully transfers the little one from my arms to his, miraculously not touching me once. “Pipsqueak,” he murmurs, lips quirking when tiny hands cup his cheeks. “Miss me?”
Pippa slaps him with a giggle. “Ya.”
Oh, Christ. Dangerous territory. Cute baby handling always cancels out the asshole. Lucky for me, Cass wastes no time uncancelling it. Situating his niece on the hip furthest from me, he spits, “What’re you doing here?”
“Stalking you, obviously.” Rolling her eyes, Luna gestures towards the backyard. “Play date, dipshit.”
“Everyone else was busy?”
“Cass.” More than one person hisses, multiple palms flying to slap the man upside his head. “What the fu-” Jackson, who chose the exact wrong moment to join us inside, catches himself at the last minute, eyeing the youths in the room as he slides the back door closed behind him. “What is wrong with you?”
Sliding from my seat, I resist the urge to hold my hands up in surrender. “I’m gonna go.”
“No.” Luna grabs my arm. “You were invited.” She scowls at Cass. “Youwere not.”
“I’m picking up Matthias.”
“Then grab him and go. Or better yet, you go, I keep Matthias, and when Amelia comes to get him, I can remind her that her brother’s anass.”
Dark eyes narrow. “Their appointment ran late so the kids are with me tonight.”
Irritation momentarily makes room for concern as Luna asks, “Is the baby okay?”
“Luna.”
When Cass jerks his head pointedly in my direction, eyes wide and warning, I can’t help but laugh. “Sorry,” I drawl in Luna’s direction, “can you repeat that? That pesky wire under my shirt is a little unreliable. Didn’t quite pick it up.”
My quip earns cackles from all the room’s occupants but one. “You’re funny.”
You’re a paranoid freak,I wish I was brave enough to retort. I think I am about to retort just that, but the backdoor squeaking open causes me to pause. The soft “Mama?” that follows erases any want or need to bicker.
Closing my eyes for a second, I exhale slowly before turning to my frowning son, pasting on the smile I reserve just for him. “What’s up, buttercup?”
Eyes the mirror image of mine dart around the room, confused yet knowing at the same time. I hate that he knows tension well enough to identify it in a split second, and I hate even more how much he hardens in the presence of it, his posture defensive as he sets his shoulders and lifts his chin. “Can we go?”
I wonder, for a second, if everyone in the room can hear my heart breaking or if I’m the only one privy to that.
“August.” I close the distance between us, murmuring for only him to hear, “It’s okay. Nothing happened.”You can have one friend without me fucking it up.
August blinks once, expression unchanging. “Okay. But we should go.”
“Do you really wanna?”
