Page 45 of Puck Princess

“Actually, Callie and I were just about to?—”

“Order Thai food!” Callie cuts me off quickly, jabbing me in the side with her free hand.

“Yeah. Thai food,” I drone flatly. “That’s exactly what I am in the mood for.”

Callie shoots me a look to kill, but Summer doesn’t even notice.

“Hell yeah, I could go for some drunken noodles.” She plops down on the couch.

My sister really knows how to make herself at home. I’d love if I could convince her to do that inherhome. The one I got for her. The one I wasn’t trying to fuck my girlfriend in two minutes ago.

I set the diaper bag on the kitchen counter and pull out my phone. “Thai food it is.”

“I’ll take some chicken lettuce wraps,” Callie says, completely enamored by Nicky, who is babbling as she kisses him.

I want to be shallow and pouty right now, butgoddammit, she’s adorable with him.

Half an hour later, we’re all sitting in the living room, eating and watching Nicky roll around on the floor. As much as I liked Plan A for this evening, Plan B isn’t so bad. It’s kind of nice just to hang out with family.

But it’s still hard to be around my sister without there being a big elephant in the room.

“Have you heard any more about the Miles situation?” I ask.

Summer finishes chewing. “Well, I got a temporary restraining order.”

“Why only temporary?” I ask. “Also, why isn’t he in jail?”

“We don’t have enough evidence to put him behind bars. And it’s only temporary because I’m going to have it lifted after I work some things out with a lawyer. I just have to find a good one.”

“I have one. I’ll call him tomorrow. But why would you lift it?”

“At first, I didn’t want him to have anything to do with us. He never wanted me to have Nicky and even threatened me when I said I wouldn’t get an abortion. It’s why I was in hiding for so long. But now, knowing how much money he has and how fucked he is legally because of all the other allegations against him, I figure the power is in my hands, and I should use it. I want him to pay. I want child support. I want him to take responsibility for his actions.”

“Good for you.” Callie’s tone is sharp, and I know all of this has to be bringing up difficult stuff for her too. Her ex is still out there somewhere, lurking in the shadows and planning his next move to hurt her. Not that I’ll ever let that happen.

Nicky crawls to Summer, and she scoops him up like she hasn’t seen him all day. A bowl of Thai noodles is all it took to reset her patience. “Besides all that, we are doing good. Really good, actually. And we owe it all to the both of you.”

“We hardly did anything.” Callie curls her legs under her and leans against my side. The feel of her against me eases every nerve in my body.

“And you will never owe me anything, Summer. I’ll always take care of you and Nicky, even if Miles doesn’t. You know that.”

“That’s because you’re a better man than he is,” Callie says. I put my arm around her and kiss her on the cheek.

Nicky whimpers, getting restless in Summer’s arms.

She stands up. “Well, between you two canoodling and Nicky getting fussy, I should head home. But thank you for dinner.”

“Anytime,” I say.

“Seriously,” Callie doubles down. “Come by anytime. You don’t even have to knock.”

As soon as Summer shuts the door, I turn to Callie. “Really? She doesn’t even have to knock?”

“Mi casa eshercasa. Actually—” She drums a finger on her chin. “—I’ve been thinking we should get a third roommate. It could be a commune vibe. One big bed in the living room, no walls. Community living at its finest.”

Callie smirks. And she is in so much trouble.

I close the space between us in a single bound and grab her around the waist.

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