Page 104 of In Spades

I had never seen anything sexier in my life.

I sighed and took another sip of water. “I just miss them, that's all.”

“I know. That’s how I feel every time I leave your house and go back to mine.” He licked the dusting of powdered sugar off his lips. “You know, I’m kinda worried about tonight.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Really?”

He shrugged.

Will was always so calm and sure of himself. He was steady and dependable like the tides. He had unshakable confidence, which probably came from always being the smartest person in the room.

It was rare to see a side of him that wasn’t entirely self-assured.

“Kris, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m pretty damn—dang serious about us. So, yeah, I’m kinda worried about tonight. I want the kids to want to come back to my place because I don’t plan on this being a one-time thing.”

I looked down at the plate on my lap. There would be oil spots on my jeans, but I didn’t care. My appetite vanished.

“Are you sure you can handle that, though?” I asked quietly. “All of us?” I let out a caustic laugh. “Just me is one thing. Me plus one would be a lot to ask. But all five of us? I can’t put that expectation on you.”

“Listen to me,” he said, stealing the last bite from the plate.

I hadn’t even noticed that Zoey had gobbled most of it down. Lord have mercy—I’d have to brush her teeth a dozen times to get all the sugar off.

“You know I don’t have any family, Kris. Sure, it’s not exactly what I expected the day you barged into my room three months ago and scared the hell out of me. But now, I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

He scooted closer and wrapped his arm around my waist.

I dabbed my fingertips at the corners of my glassy eyes. “I never thought anyone would want me, much less all of us. We’re a lot. I’m a lot.”

“You’ll never be too much for someone who can’t get enough of you.” Will leaned down, capturing my lips with his. “I love you,” he murmured against my mouth, the taste of vanilla and cinnamon mingling on our tongues. “You’re everything I could ever want, and you’ve got it in spades.”

“Hey!”

We broke apart to see Logan, Kylie, and Hunter walking toward us. Logan was drinking lemonade from a long, plastic cup that was half his height. A massive stuffed flamingo filled Kylie’s arms. Hunter had a smoked turkey leg as big as my thigh in one hand and grilled corn on the cob in the other. My arteries clogged at the sight.

Kylie plopped down beside Will, and he draped his arm over her shoulders.

“Having fun?” he asked.

She nodded, smiling at him with adoring eyes. “Yeah, we were on our way to go watch the BMX riders and saw y’all. Figured we’d come check-in.”

“What’s BMX?” Zoey asked.

“It’s these super cool guys on dirt bikes doing all these crazy tricks and stuff. They, like, fly super high in the air and only hold onto the bikes with their hands, but sometimes they let go while they do stunts and jump off ramps. It’s so freaking cool,” Hunter said, barely taking a breath between bites of turkey and corn.

Zoey bounced like a kangaroo on a pogo stick. “Oooh! I wanna watch!” She turned to Will and grabbed his arm. “Please, please, please! Can we go?”

I laughed and tried to pry her from Will. Before either of us could say anything, Logan piped up.

“Yeah, come on, Zo.” He looked at me. “Is it cool if we take Zoey? We’ll keep an eye on her.”

Kylie and Logan shared a look, and I began to wonder just how spontaneous our little run-in was. Kylie stood up and took Zoey’s hand. “We’ll take Zoey and give y’all a little alone time. Do you still want to meet in front of the arena to grab dinner?”

I nodded because what else could I do? Kylie and Logan were two ridiculously responsible, sweet kids, and I was damn proud to be their sister.

Of course, I was still terrified at the idea of them entering the world as adults. But at least for tonight, I could let go a little.

Will and I waved them off. Before they disappeared into the crowd, Logan leaned down and asked Zoey something. She nodded, and he picked her up, setting her on his shoulders just like Will had done.

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