Page 70 of A Game Of Love

Bennett and Brody are in a standoff, each with a handful of cake, neither of them looking away.

Then there’s Theo, standing in front of Mom as she peeks over his shoulder, icing smeared on her face.

She looks over at me, a big, bright smile on her face. “Lilly, baby, you’re home. How was your night?”

“Clearly not as fun as yours.” I grin. “What’s going on?” I ask again.

“Put me down, you big dumb idiot!” Rain shouts.

“Not until you admit I’m the victor,” Chase laughs.

“Never!” Rain shouts back.

“Ouch!” Chase drops Rain to her feet, nearly on her ass, and looks at her in horror. “Did you just bite my ass?”

“Damn right I did.” Rain grins before grabbing a handful of cake off the counter and shoving it in Chase’s face.

“Lilly, save me!” Bennett screams, still not looking away from Brody.

“Dad. Put the cake down, and no one gets hurt,” I say with amusement.

You see, stuff like this, it’s not unusual for our family. It’s one of the things I love the most about my parents. They love us unconditionally as well as each other. Always making sure our lives are happy and exciting. There’s never a dull moment with them, that’s for sure.

“No. Because this little shit thought it would be funny to shove a handful of cake down my pants.”

“What?” I snort out a laugh. “Bennett.”

“Well,” Bennett huffs, but I see the smile on his face. “He was just standing around like a big grump while it was happening. I wanted him to join in and have some fun.”

“Could have thrown it at my damn face,” Brody huffs.

“Oh, now, be nice, Broody.” I can’t help the grin that takes over my face when I call him the nickname I did as a kid.

He looks up at me and that's the opening Bennett needed to launch his handful of cake right into Brody’s face.

Brody grunts, then blindly throws his handful. Only it sails past Bennett and hits me right in the face.

I squeal, jumping back into Toby. “Dad!” I shout.

“Shit, sorry, Lillypad.”

Wiping the mess from my eyes, I shoot him a death glare.

A choked laugh leaves Toby, and I can feel his chest shaking with laughter. Spinning around, I turn the glare at him. “Don’t you laugh at me.”

“I’m not.” But the asshole grins.

Huffing, I turn back to the mess that is my parents. “Why the hell are you all having a cake fight?”

Mom steps out from behind Theo.

“Uncle Cooper and Uncle Blake are renewing their vows in December and asked if your Mama and I could make the cake.”

One of the hobbies Mom picked up while being a stay-at-home mom with us was baking. That was when she wasn’t working at the bookstore.

She got pretty good at baking cakes. Always made them for our birthdays and special occasions.

“Really?” I grin wide. “That's so exciting! I can’t wait to see them again. I’m so happy for them.”

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