Page 156 of In Spades

Bridget looked like she was about to burst.

I hid my smile behind my fist.

Bee chewed on her lip, “Have you, uh… looked at the group text today?”

Kristin shook her head casually, but I saw the first inkling of a smile breaking through her faux indifference. “No, I’ve been a little busy.”

“I bet you have,” Bee said, obviously wanting the scoop.

Kristin wore an unbeatable poker face.

I couldn’t help myself. “You gonna put her out of her misery, Sunshine?”

Kristin elbowed me playfully. “Geez, way to ruin it. I was gonna keep her going for at least another half an hour.”

“Oh, for the love,” Bridget huffed. “Are y’all actually back together? Did you really almost get arrested this morning?”

Damn. Hannah Jane had the rumor mill churning fast. We sat and ate lunch while Kristin filled Bridget in on everything that had happened.

I kept my hand wrapped around Kristin’s thigh underneath the bar. The way she leaned into me unconsciously didn’t go unnoticed.

When I walked into Rich’s office milliseconds before Kristin admitted to a crime she didn’t commit, she was as pale as unbaked biscuits. It had been an hour since Rich got hauled off, but she was still shaking, even as she dragged a fry through a pile of ketchup.

I was still scared that she was going to make a run for it. So, for the moment, at least, I decided to just soak up our time together.

The door jingled as Maddie walked inside. It wasn’t so much the bells on the door that jingle as the whole door itself. The frame barely held on to hinges, the handle fell off every other time it opened, and the screen sported tears in three different places.

But that was Jokers. It wasn’t the prettiest place around—or the most sanitary—but it was always warm and welcoming.

Something was up with Maddie. She was usually a one-woman party, but today she was quiet.

She wrapped her arms around Kristin and pulled her into a strangling hug. “I’m so sorry, Kris. Are you okay?”

Kristin let out a heavy breath. “I think so.” She looked over her shoulder at me. “I’m just glad Will showed up.” She swallowed thickly. “I don’t know what would’ve happened if…”

Shaking her head, Maddie held Kristin’s shoulders and said, “Don’t think about the what-ifs. Don’t look back.” She looked over Kristin’s shoulder at me, then back down at Kristin. “Have y’all—you know—talked it out?”

Kristin glanced at me with a sheepish smile. She was thinking about that kiss.

I discreetly adjusted myself under the bar and took a swig of beer, hoping to calm my unwieldy erection.

Damn. Five minutes around Kristin again, and I was already getting hard-ons with every slight breeze. It was like going through fucking puberty again.

“We’re working on it,” Kristin said softly.

I could accept that.

Maddie’s face broke into a bright smile. “Oh my God! Good! You had me worried there for a second. Y’all are just perfect.” Her eyes were wild with delight. “You’re like Cinderella, and he’s your fairy God-daddy!”

Kristin rolled her eyes. “I hate everything that just came out of your mouth.”

“And what about us?” Maddie asked. “Think you’ll come back to poker night?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Hey,” Bridget said when she saw Maddie. “How’s your mom doing?”

Maddie just shrugged. “She wasn’t having a good day today. I didn’t stay very long.”

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