Page 23 of For the Night

“I don’t know who needed that more, you or me,” she murmured.

In my eyes, I hadn’t given her anything, so I wasn’t sure what she was referring to.

“My brain is mush…” I mustered a sleepy grin, one she mirrored.

Then she kissed me softly and rubbed her nose to mine. “I’ll walk you upstairs. Tomorrow we’ll spend more time together…?”

Hell yes. I nodded.

I wanted to spend the night with her too, but I could be patient.

Somewhat.

CHAPTER THREE

Penelope Darling

Good Christ, already?

It had to be too early for a bunch of brats to jump in the pool.

I cursed and folded the pillow over my head to drown out the noise. We’d clearly prioritized wrong when we’d built the cabins. We’d thought more about shelter from extreme weather and less about screams.

Kit and Noa were definitely here.

“Faster! Faster! You gotta win, Daddy!”

“Woot! Go again!”

I gnashed my teeth, kicked off the covers, and shoved away the pillow. Then I grabbed my phone and squinted at the screen.

Nine thirty-four.

Fuck my life. Did these brats not know the meaning of sleeping in?

At the sound of laughter and goading from KC and Colt, I added them to my shit list too. Unfortunately, I couldn’t count on Lucian in these matters because he was an early riser, but River? Where was he? How could he sleep through all this?

As if the ruckus wasn’t enough, someone put on music, and then we had Lady Gaga blaring out about a bad romance.

I give up.

I cursed and scrambled out of bed, only to come face-to-face with the mess of my cabin. Furniture in its boxes everywhere, bed frame leaning against the wall—I had a lot to assemble next week.

After gathering my hair in a haphazard bun at the top of my head, I stepped into a clean pair of panties, and I dug a snug tee out from a duffel. One of the things still boxed up was my new coffeemaker, so I had to go up to the main house for a caffeine fix.

On second thought, I took off my panties again and went with my bikini bottoms. Might as well. After the event planning, I was going to need a sunny nap before the party.

I made quick work of freshening up in my tiny bathroom under the stairs, and then I slipped into my flip-flops and walked out of the cabin. I was met by harsh sunlight and way too many brats. And my cabin was closer to the woods than the pool. River, Reese, and Shay’s cabin was right across from the pool, so it seemed even less likely that River was asleep.

Dean, Santiago, and Gael have arrived, I see.

“Every single time!” I heard Noa guffaw. Cameron was leaving their cabin, and Noa ran toward him. “You gotta see this, babe! Mister Colt and Mister Ty finish at the same second every race! And Daddy won!”

“Hrmph.” I took in the surroundings, spying KC, Ty, Colt, Santiago, Gael, and Kit in the pool. Reese must’ve finished his morning swim; he was eating breakfast in the shade. Lucian and Dean were reading the paper on the deck, and… August King and his two partners had arrived too. Anthony and Camden were getting ready to jump in the water.

What on earth?

Nora.

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