Page 121 of In Spades

I took a swig of beer and latched on to the not-so-subtle message.

“There will be no finger banging under the table,” Maddie continued.

Mel snorted. “Really? Finger banging? I didn’t know we were fifteen again.”

“Additionally, there will also be no fucking in the wine cellar. None of that shit! The bottles in there are expensive. You break it, you buy it. Unless you’re Isaac, I don’t think you’ll want to pay up,” Maddie ordered.

I leaned down, my lips grazing the shell of Kristin’s ear. “Yeah, I’m gonna need the story behind all this.”

Kristin giggled. “HJ and Isaac at Thanksgiving last year.”

Maddie overheard. “Yeah, these are all things that have actually happened. Now we have to lay down the law for you perverts.”

“And to think—she used to be the crazy one,” Chase said to Luca.

Luca grinned. “Still is. I just get her crazy all to myself now.”

“Hey, y’all!” Bridget said breathlessly, cutting into the conversation as she barreled down the stairs. “Sorry I’m late. What’d I miss?”

“Thanksgiving plans,” Mel said. “Is Kyle coming with you this year?”

Chase’s hackles raised at the mention of Kyle Kingsley.

“I, uh, I dunno,” Bridget said nervously.

Mel raised an eyebrow and shot Bridget a dirty look. I didn’t quite understand the meaning of it.

Bridget tugged at her long-sleeved shirt, pulling the edges over her fingers nervously. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it this year. Kyle said something about having some of his friends over for a meal.”

The tension between the two of them hung heavy.

Chase seethed in his corner of the room, making no attempt to mask his anger. Luna whined at his feet, thumping her tail and bumping his leg with her snout.

“I’m gonna take Luna for a walk,” he said, grumbling under his breath as he slipped through the double-doors with his dog.

An awkward silence ensued.

Finally, Hannah Jane pulled out a thick notebook and broke the tension. “Bee, I’ve got that vendor list we talked about.”

I hung back as Kristin and the girls crowded around the circular couch to talk wedding details with Bridget. Luca turned to me, then tilted his head toward the door. I followed him outside.

“What’s up?” I asked, shivering as the chilly air hit my skin.

Luca started to close the door, but Isaac caught the frame with his shoe. He stepped out with us, shutting the door behind him.

“You told her yet?” Luca asked.

Aw, hell. Not this again. “Look?—”

“It’s a yes or no question, Solomon,” Isaac said, crossing his arms.

“It’s not that simple.”

“Bullshit!” Luca clipped. “The clock’s running out. Either you tell her you’re the one who bought the inn, or I will. Isaac may have signed an NDA, but I sure as hell didn’t. I’m not letting you hurt Kristin by keeping this from her.”

Chase suddenly appeared with Luna on a leash by his side. “What the hell? You’re the one who bought the inn?”

I leveled Luca a searing glare. “If you don’t want Kristin to get hurt, you’ll let me do this when things at the inn are stable. You don’t have all the facts, so don’t go running your mouth. You know how tricky acquisitions are. Don’t fuck shit up for Kris.”

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