Page 68 of Caught Stealing

“Okay, well…I called Mingo something else when I was there. Francesco. Is that okay with you?”

She giggles a little, her tiny nose scrunching up as she does. “That’s a funny name, but I don’t think Mingo would mind.”

“Good, then where do you want—”

“Let’s go!” Charlotte grabs his hand and starts yanking him toward the living room, breaking out into a run. A hilarious sight, considering he takes one stride for her three or four. Still, the sight of the two of them hand-in-hand also makes the organ in my chest stutter and stumble as it beats, especially when he glances over his shoulder and beams at me.

I’ve really gotta get a fucking grip.

I follow as she pulls him into the living room, only to find some of the guys already in there chatting or scrolling through their phones while we wait for the pizza Dad ordered for dinner. Charlotte isn’t fazed however, dragging Holden over to the giant beanbag in the corner she’s claimed as hers since the day we brought her home.

She plops down on the thing, and Holden carefully folds himself into it beside her and pulls out his phone. Together, the two of them swipe through whatever images are on there. A few of them I saw him take, like one with his duck on top of the flamingo’s head or one with him sitting on the float, legs on either side of the neck, tossing a “hang loose” sign in the air.

They go on like that for twenty minutes before she’s asking to start all over again.

“Let me see the duck one again,” Charlotte says, drawing my attention back to them.

“Okay, okay.” He chuckles and starts flipping through his phone again before showing her.

Giggles come bubbling from her lips, the sound music to my ears after the turmoil I’ve been feeling lately, and a sense of lightness settles over me for the first time in weeks. Being around Bug always seems to have that effect.

“More, more,” she demands, while doing a little bounce beside him. Only, rather than waiting on Holden to do the swiping, she grabs the phone from his hands, clearly intent on doing it herself.

“Shi—oot, hold on,” Holden mutters, grabbing his phone away from her. “There’s a couple in here that shouldn’t be viewed by innocent eyes.”

“Better not show Kason, then,” Noah says from across the living room, not even looking up from his phone.

“Ha, ha. Poke fun at the virgin because it’s so funny,” Kason grumbles from where he sits on the couch. He says it quietly enough not to draw Charlotte’s attention, which is probably a good thing. I really don’t need her going up to either of our parents tomorrow after we leave and asking them what a virgin is.

“Dinner will be here in a few,” Mom’s voice comes from beside me.

I smile at her and wrap my arm around her shoulder and squeeze, only to feel her return one around my waist.

“Thanks, Mom.”

Our attention shifts to where Charlotte and Holden are when she lets out another fit of giggles. It amazes me how enthusiastically they talk between themselves. Like no one else is in the room.

You wouldn’t know by looking that there’s almost a fifteen-year age gap between them, because he treats her just like any of us. A bit softer, of course, since she is still a child. It’s something in his tone of voice and demeanor; he is not handling her with kid gloves like most people do. Especially if they know about her being adopted.

“She’s enthralled with him,” Mom whispers, just for my ears.

My attention shifts, and I meet her amber eyes. “Yes, she is. Not something I expected, but it’s cool, regardless.”

“And he’s good to Kason?”

The question takes me off-guard, and I force myself to whisper an answer I don’t believe in. For so many reasons, I can’t even begin to list them.

“They’re great together.”

“I’m glad. That boy’s family, and Lord knows he deserves something good in his life.” There’s a hint of a smile on her face as she continues watching Holden with my sister. “I can see why he’d be just as captivated.”

He’s not the only one.

And the thought alone is exactly why I don’t think I’ll be able to last another full day in the car with the two of them tomorrow.

I see the way Kason looks at him; the affection in his gaze that’s become so painfully obvious, it’s almost sickening. Or maybe the nausea is because it’s the same way I’ve caught myself looking at him, too.

He has a way of bewitching me and everyone else around him. I hate admitting it, even if it’s just to myself, but I can’t deny the truth anymore. Something about the guy draws me in, dragging me under his spell and twisting me up inside. Knotting up my intestines and coiling around my heart in a grip that continues tightening no matter how hard I try to escape.

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