Page 56 of Dirty Temptation

“Babe. Chill,” Harper says.

“We are just playing for fun,” Emma, Logan’s wife, says.

In response all the men start shuffling their feet and mutteringyeah no, we are at war.

I grin.

This is going to be epic.

––––––––

AN HOUR LATER, we’ve had our third warning.

We will be kicked out of the winery if we do not keep the noise down, and we were told that pétanque isnotcricket, basketball,orsoftball.

“Gentle is your friend,” the manager says.

“Fuck offff,” Fletcher mutters as he walks away and tosses back a gulp of his Sauvignon Blanc. “This is a family war.”

Then he takes an unnecessary run up and...bang!

The balls goes flying.

“Ten points!” he cries with his arms over his head, and Molly giggles.

God I love that sound.

“This is useless.” Knox growls stalking across the space. “Everyone is breaking the fucking rules.”

Olivia, Harper, and Lily bend over giggling while Molly stands beside me moving from one foot to the other.

The little firecracker wants to win as much as the boys.

It’s so damn hot.

Everyone was broken into the following teams:

Montgomery’s:Knox, Payton, me, Molly, Levi, and Bella.

Blake was pissed because Bella now has his surname, but she insisted it would balance the numbers.

Dufort’s:Daniel, Fletcher, Hunter, Emma, Logan, Aidan, and Amelia.

Jack had to take a call—he’s a US Senator and it happens during family occasions more than his wife, Amelia, would like, I’m sure of it.

Olivia, Harper, and Lily are calling themselves the cheerleaders. When I pointed out that pétanque doesn’t have cheerleaders, it just sent them into a round of giggles.

Basically that’s all they’ve done for the past hour or so—taunt us and laugh.

Visitors to the winery have been standing around watching us. I know we’re going to end up on someone’s social media.

“We’re not starting again,” Molly calls out. “If they break the rules they get penalized ten points.”

“No way!” Aidan replies.

“Yup. That’s fair.” I nod. “Otherwise, we have to keep starting again. We’ll be here all weekend.”

“I need another glass of wine.” Emma groans, throwing her head back.

---