Page 85 of In Spades

Will pursed his lips and bit back a laugh.

I tried to keep my expression trained, but it was hard. “Well,” I said, laughing under my breath. “I don’t know. I’ve never challenged him to a race.”

“If he’s really your friend, how come you don’t know how fast he is?” Zoey pressed. “I know how fast all of my friends are. We race each other every day at recess!”

Will stood up. For a split second, I worried that he was going to smack his head on the ceiling. My concern was unfounded, but not by much.

He crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side, cutting his eyes between Zoey and me. “Well. Looks like we’re going to have to go outside and settle this like a couple of five-year-olds.”

Zoey put her hands on her hips. “I’m six.”

And that’s how we found ourselves outside, running sprints under the streetlights. Will and Zoey faced off first. He let her win, of course, taking long but slow strides, making a show of it.

Then, Zoey pitted Will and me against each other. “You gonna go easy on me, Solomon?” I asked as I slipped my sandals off and wiggled my toes in the grass.

Will grinned. “If that’s your version of trash-talking, you really suck at it, Sunshine.”

That made Logan crack a smile. It was small, but he let it slip long enough for me to notice.

I grinned. “I was just giving you a chance to say something snarky because I’m gonna kick your butt.”

“Please,” he snorted. “I’m gonna crush you.”

“Fat chance,” I retorted. “You might die of old age before you get to the finish line.”

That had the kids howling. Even Logan couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“You lovebirds ready?” Kylie called from the next streetlamp down. She put her arms up and then dropped them. “Go!”

Will and I took off. I was a few paces ahead of him when he came up behind me, scooped me up, and ran with me in his arms across the finish line. As soon as we passed the streetlamp and stepped into a shadow, his lips were on mine.

“How’d I do?” he asked.

I smiled against his lips. “Perfect.”

The way he held me pressed our chests together. His heartbeat was in perfect time with mine.

I shooed the kids inside before the mosquitoes ate us up. Everyone seemed a little more relaxed—me included.

It was getting late, and the kids had school in the morning, but I knew Will was dead set on quality time with them. I didn’t think I could get any more grateful. But here I was, counting the blessings that were washing in like a flash flood.

“Kris mentioned you’re into gaming,” Will said as he reached in the bag he brought and pulled out a plastic case. He handed it to Logan. “You got this one?”

Logan shook his head but didn’t reach for the game. I caught the corner of his eye and nudged my head for him to say something.

“Uh… No.” Logan took it, turning the box over and reading the back, “I’ve been lookin’ at it, though.”

Will leaned back on the couch and draped his arm around my shoulders. “Let me know what you think after a few runs. If you get tired of playing vanilla, I’ll come over and show you how to mod it.”

Logan raised his eyebrows, still skeptical of Will. “Really? You’d do that?’

“Of course.” Will turned his attention to Hunter. “What’d you think of The Inheritance Cycle?”

Hunter lit up like a lightbulb. “You’ve read it?”

Will grinned. “Dude, I freakin’ loved it. Have you tackled Tolkien yet?”

Before Hunter could answer, Kylie emerged from the bathroom where she had supervised Zoey brushing her teeth. Zoey had put on her princess nightgown and was tiptoeing into the room, probably hoping to squeeze a few more minutes out of me before I sent her to bed.

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