Page 86 of In Spades

“Not yet,” Hunter said sheepishly. “I don’t know if I’m ready for it.”

Will pulled out a book and handed it to him. “I had an extra copy of The Fellowship of the Ring at home. Kristin told me about the kind of books you were into, and I figured you might like that one. When you finish it, let me know, and I’ll bring the next one.”

Hunter grinned. “Thanks, Kristin’s friend.”

Zoey planted her feet in front of Will’s spot on the couch. “What about me?” Her puppy eyes were notorious. She was dragging her stuffed rabbit by the ears and looked so adorable even I was wounded by the look. “Did you bring anything for me?”

Will scooted away from me and patted the empty space between us. Zoey scrambled up to take her rightful place. “I heard you did something really nice for Luna,” Will said as he pulled a stuffed duck out of the bag and handed it to Zoey. “And I thought maybe you’d like a new duck since you gave your Quackers to Luna to help her sleep.”

Her eyes turned to saucers, and she gasped, nearly sucking all the oxygen out of the room. She didn’t even say anything, just threw her little arms around Will and squeezed with all her might. Without skipping a beat, he wrapped his big arms around her and hugged her as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“How’d Will know all that stuff about us?” Hunter asked when I poked my head into the boys’ room to make sure they were settled in for the night.

After vehement protests, I sent the kids off to get ready for bed. They wanted to stay up and hang out with Will more, but morning would come at the same time. None of them were particularly pleasant if they got anything less than seven hours of sleep.

They said their goodbyes and made Will promise to come back soon. Will and I sat and talked for a few minutes while the older three rotated through brushing their teeth. When all was quiet, I left him in the living room and went to say goodnight.

I picked up a stray pair of pants and tossed them in the boys’ hamper. “I talk about y’all all the time, silly.” I laughed.

“Can he come back tomorrow?” Hunter’s nose was already in the copy of The Fellowship of the Ring that Will had given him. By my guess, he was twenty pages in.

Something warm bloomed inside of me. Never once had anything ever fallen into place like this.

Everyone always says that when you’re with the right person, you just know. I always assumed that was bullshit, but they were right. I knew Will was my person.

He was patient and kind. Trustworthy. Honest. He could make me laugh, and the man was seriously hot. Men like Isaac, Luca, and Steve—while incredibly hot—kind of scared me. They were just so intense. I needed someone calm and steady. That was Will.

“Will works a lot, but I’ll talk to him and see if we can get together again sometime.” I didn’t want to rush things. Hunter and Zoey were firmly on Team Will, but Logan was skittish. Kylie seemed to really like him, so hopefully, she could work a little magic when it came to convincing Logan that Will was a great guy.

I said goodnight to the boys, turned out their light, and popped my head across the hall to the girls’ room.

“Y’all good?” I asked.

Zoey was snuggled up with her bunny in one arm and her new duck in the other. Kylie was preoccupied with admiring the flowers Will had brought for her. She had put them in a quart mason jar and set them on the little table beside her bed.

“They’re pretty, aren’t they?” I said as I sat down at the foot of her bed.

Kylie beamed. “I’ve never gotten flowers before… I mean, I know he’s your boyfriend, but it was still pretty cool.”

I laughed. “It was really sweet of him.”

“It made me feel grown-up. And I saw him open the door for you. Do guys, like, really do that?”

I squeezed her ankle through the layers of blankets. “The good ones do.”

Kylie’s voice was quiet. “I really like him, Kris. Do you think he likes us?”

“I know he does.” I patted her leg. “Get some sleep, okay?”

I closed the girls’ door behind me and quietly padded into the living room. Will was still sitting on the couch. His ankle was kicked up on top of his knee, and his arm was stretched out across the back. He looked relaxed.

“You made quite the impression,” I said as I sat back down and nestled into his side. “And it didn’t go unnoticed that two out of the four gifts require a return trip.”

He smirked and leaned against one of the armrests as he pulled me into his lap. “I will do whatever it takes to score more time with you and them.” Will brushed my hair aside and trailed kisses down my neck. “And when the flowers wilt, I’ll bring new ones—for you and Kylie—so I definitely see multiple return trips happening.”

I hummed happily as I turned in his lap to straddle his hips. I wrapped my arms around his waist and mumbled, “You play dirty.”

“I’m not just dating you. I’m courting them too.”

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