Page 77 of Shattered

“Hey.”

The brightness she exudes lights up my soul, and my smile is instant. She spent the night at my place last night and left this morning to do a couple of things before coming to her parents’ house to help get a few things ready.

“You know, Mom’s probably going to try to keep him.”

I huff out a chuckle, looking back at them, but I can’t help but get a little choked up while watching them. Because she’s behaving how I would love my mom to act—like we fucking matter and mean something to her. Adi laughs and throws a toy into the pool while Kate chats animatedly with him and hands him another one to put in.

“Do you want a drink or something?” My gaze is pulled back to Sienna, and she must see something in my expression because hers softens with understanding, like she can tell my thoughts without me verbalizing them. “I wish your parents could see how special you both are and realize what they’re missing out on.”

Her fingers reach out to loosely hold mine, and just that simple touch comforts me. Of course, that changes when my eyes dip down to her chest, and I glimpse the top of her cleavage. Her touch then feels electrical, making my blood pump a little faster. It’s like I’m catching up on all the time that I’ve been celibate.

Or maybe it’s just her that I can’t get enough of.

The back door opening has me quickly pulling my hand away just as Keith walks out. “There’s no arguing where you got your love of kids,” he says to Sienna, watching Kate and Adi at the pool.

She snickers. “Oh, come on. You love them just as much.” A warm smile creases the corners of his eyes, but he doesn’t reply. Sienna then turns to me. “So, drink?”

“Coke, if you have some.”

She nods and walks off, leaving me standing with her dad.

“Come.” Keith grips my shoulder and gives it a quick squeeze. “You can help me bring a couple of chairs out.”

“Sure.” With a final look at Adi, I follow him inside.

Shortly after we bring everything outside, their friends Rick and Jill turn up, and then Keith blasts some Fleetwood Mac through their outdoor speaker.

I remember a few of these barbeques from when we were younger, but Jason and I would usually just hang out in his bedroom—too cool to join the adults back then. There’s definitely a different feel to it now as an adult with a kid here.

Sienna drops down onto the chair beside me, laughing. “Adi just sprayed me with water in the worst spot.” She waves a hand in the general direction of her crotch, and my eyes drop to see the wet patch.

“I don’t need water to make you that wet.”

The words are out before I can think twice about them, and a pretty shade of pink touches her cheeks, along with the widening of her eyes.

After taking a quick look around us to ensure no one is within earshot, she leans closer to me. “You know, you may look all wholesome with your glasses and gorgeous son, but you’ve developed a bit of a dirty mouth.” Moving back, she grins, her eyes sparkling with delight. “And I can’t say I don’t like it.”

Returning her smile, I face forward again, watching as Kate hands Adi some apple slices.

“This is nice. My parents never had barbeques and rarely had friends over. Too busy.”

“I know,” she replies quietly, reminding me just how much she knows of my past from when we used to text.

Jason steps around the corner of the house a moment later, and a part of the relaxed atmosphere dissipates, replaced with a tense awareness that we can’t get too close now or let our eyes linger for too long.

Catching sight of Sienna and me, he saunters over, holding a hand out for Adi to slap along the way, which he does because my son seems to love everyone in this family.

Jason’s gaze flickers over me and Sienna once before sitting on the other side of me. “I didn’t realize it was that type of party,” he jokes, nodding his head toward Adi. “I wasted my time picking out clothes.”

“Gross. Nobody wants to see you naked.”

Jason reaches past me and pretends to swat at her, but she’s already out of her seat and walking toward the cooler for another drink. “You always get extra sassy with me when you’re in a good mood. What happened?”

“Nothing.” She smiles at him over her shoulder, and then her eyes flicker to me at the last second before she turns and walks toward her mom and Adi.

Jason and I catch up for a minute, then watch in silence as his mom and Sienna play with Adi while soaking in the beautiful day and listening to music, which has now been lowered to a background volume.

“I feel like I’ve robbed you of all this.” Jason’s sudden comment has my brows pulling together and I turn to him. His eyes are still focused ahead, but he no doubt feels mine on him. “You guys could have been doing this for the past few years.”

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