Page 128 of 10 Ways to Accidentally Fall in Love

“You shall never defeat me! Your efforts are futile, tiny humans. Surrender now or—”

Brad cuts off on a gasp, falling to his knees as Sonny nails him with a blast from his water gun.

“No! This can’t be,” the love of my life says in dramatic fashion, sinking to the grass as my cousins’ kids advance on him, giggling hysterically all the while. “You may have wounded me, but I will rally. You’ll never win. You’ll never…”

Brad makes a gurgling sound and goes still, his face pressed to the ground.

“That one?” Iggy asks.

“That one,” I agree, letting out a sigh. My smile is ridiculously wide as I watch Brad feign his demise. Iggy slaps my shoulder, chuckling softly.

“Here you go, hon,” my Aunt Margot says, passing me a new margarita. “He’s good with them. Are the two of you thinking about having kids of your own?”

I cough into my drink, and Iggy cackles.

“If you ever want a test run,” Alice calls from nearby, “just let me know. You guys can have mine for the weekend.”

I look over at where Sonny is repeatedly shooting Brad in the head with water, his hair now soaked.

Oh boy.

“That’s, uh, great. Thanks, Alice,” I manage, heading over to Brad’s sprawled form. “I think you guys got him. Why don’t you head inside and grab plates and silverware for lunch?”

The kids groan but head for the house, and I squat down, running my fingers through Brad’s wet hair.

“Doing all right?” I ask.

“They just kept shooting,” he mutters, shifting his face toward me, a grass stain on one cheek. “Ruthless little gremlins.”

I snort. “They had fun.”

“So did I,” he says, accepting the hand I hold out for him. He lets me tug him up and brushes loose grass off his shirt. “But now my health points are low, Joey-roo, so I’m gonna need you to feed me. What are we having for lunch? Please say meat.”

“Burgers and brats,” my Uncle Johnny calls, holding up his tongs. A massive brat is held in the metal.

Oh no.

“Frack yeah,” Brad says, bounding toward the patio table. “Ooh! Whole pickles. These things are huge. Sonia! Where’d you find such big dills?”

Oh no.

Lunch is…interesting. Luckily, I don’t have to try to stop myself from watching Brad as he eats, even when he manages to turn his brat into a two-biter. An impressive feat, for sure.

Once we finish up and the table has been cleared, Brad and I go change into our swimsuits. He’s less hesitant this time as we get into the water, but I still stick close.

“You’re doing good,” I tell him, watching as he swims along the edge of the pool. He stops before long, his arm resting on the concrete perimeter.

Floating still isn’t his strong suit.

“Well, see, this guy I’m dating is part fish,” he says with a grin. “So I had to learn a few things.”

“This fish would have happily stayed on land for you,” I point out.

Brad frowns before pushing off the edge. “Incoming.”

I keep the two of us buoyant as Brad wraps his legs around my waist, his arms looped loosely over my shoulders.

“I need you to listen to me,” he says seriously, his light green eyes pinging between my own.

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