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She nods her head at him before skipping over to me and sitting on the chair to my right.
He heads inside, no doubt toward Nate and Charlotte. Izzie starts to tell us all about her friend at school and how she has a new pencil case containing hidden compartments. We all seem to be listening to her with one ear while trying to make out the murmurs coming from the kitchen.
A couple of minutes later, Nate pulls Charlotte outside saying something to her under his breath. They both reach the table and smile, Charlotte taking a seat beside Izzie and Nate sitting beside her.
“It will work, trust me,” he reassures her.
The scraping of a chair echoes around us as Izzie runs off shouting, “I’m going to find a ladybird!”
I clear my throat, gaining their attention. “Are you sure?”
They both whip their heads around to face me. “I…” Charlotte hesitates, her eyes searching Nate’s, looking for something in their depths.
“I got him here, didn’t I? That’s more than anything we’ve been able to do before.” He picks up a bottle of beer from in front of him and winks at me. “Everyone needs to relax and have fun, that’s why we’re all here.”
I bite my lip. Half of the battle was Nate getting him here—I can’t imagine that was easy—now we all just need to act normal, like there isn’t a storm cloud hanging over us waiting to downpour.
We all seem to hold our breath when Tris comes back outside dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. He heads over to Edward who’s manning the grill before removing the spatula out of his hand and taking his place silently.
Nate takes this as his cue, standing up and letting out a roar as he chases after Izzie, catching her around her waist and throwing her over his shoulder before running across the grass.
He finally places her down and she screams when he leans forward, trying to get her a second time. She holds her hands up in the air, running away with her giggles floating behind her.
Tapping fingers on a chair gain my attention and I turn around to face Clay. “Why don’t you go and play with Izzie?” I ask, grinning. “Go and have some fun!” His head swings around, looking at Tris before coming back to face me, his eyes shining with uncertainty. “Go on.”
He pushes his chair back after a few seconds, running over to Izzie who’s playing on the grass between the patio and the pool house. Izzie tags Clay and runs off, hiding behind Nate and squealing as Clay gets closer to her.
“Help me, Uncle Nate!”
He leans down, picking her up and putting her on his shoulders before he runs in a circle around the edge of the pool and back over to the middle of the grass. Clay chases after them both as he tries to keep his laughter at bay.
I smile and when I look over at Tris, he’s grinning at them too. Maybe this was a good idea after all?
I finally begin to relax at the laughter and smiles surrounding us all. My gaze catching Charlotte’s causes me to smile wider.
“You were right,” I tell her.
She leans forward, her gaze flitting over to Tris who is still standing at the grill. “To be honest, I had my doubts when he first pulled up. He was furious.” She shakes her head. “But he seems so happy right now.”
“He does,” I agree, pushing back my chair and standing up. “I’m going to get a drink, would you like anything?”
“I’ll have a glass of wine,” she answers. I look at Edward but he shakes his head and lifts his glass in the air that’s half full.
I head into the kitchen with a slight spring in my step. The last few days the atmosphere in the house has been shadowed by Tris’s bad mood. It’s not been the best of places to be, but that seems to be changing today.
Opening the cabinet door, I pull down a wine glass and a tumbler, filling mine with some soda before pouring Charlotte a white wine.
Just as I’m stepping out of the kitchen and back onto the patio, the doorbell rings, the sound reaching all the way outside. Passing the wine glass to Charlotte, I’m about to turn around and answer the door but Tris steps past me.
“I’ll get it.”
He walks inside so I take my seat and lean back, relaxing and watching the grin on Nate’s face as he runs around the backyard. He’s always so open with the kids, treating them like they’re an extension of himself. It doesn’t matter what Tris does to push him away, he always seems to shove right back and plant himself in front of him, not willing to let Tris become isolated.
He lifts his head, his eyes capturing mine right away. The sun reflects off the green, making them shine bright and sparkle. His lip curls up on one side in a slow but steady smirk and my skin breaks out in goose bumps. The longer he watches me, the more my body doesn’t know how to react; he makes me feel like I’m both hot and cold at the same time—a complete contradiction.
It isn’t the first time he’s given me one of those secret looks and I hate to admit how much it affects me, but I can’t deny the shiver that rolls through me.
Ripping my gaze away from his, I turn my head as I hear footsteps and spot Tris walking toward us, a box in his hands.
