Page 18 of The Fated Mate Bandit

Lucas hugs his body and lowers his head. Shame nearly radiates off his body. “Hi, Tin. That wasn’t what it looked like.”

“I imagine it’s none of my business what it looked like,” Tin says. “Just thought you’d like to know the others are coming.”

Right on cue, Link ambles into the kitchen. He’s wearing the signature ball cap he adopted the moment he was drafted, and therefore, recognizable to most people in Texas. Prior to that, he was only college-football famous, which is still pretty famous around these parts. He wasn’t aware of it, though. At least not as much as he should have been. His agent was the one who insisted he start wearing a hat and more clothing. If Link was left to his own devices, he'd continue to walk around wearing only a pair of jeans, like we did when we were kids.

“Lucas!” Link raises his arms to give Lucas a big hug. I watch Lucas closely, not sure if that kind of affection will still be welcome. But Lucas smiles at him shyly and lets himself be enveloped in my brother’s big arms.

“We missed you so much, man,” Link says, squeezing Lucas with a fervor that concerns me a little bit, considering he’s pregnant.

“Lucas?!” Quin stands in the doorway of the kitchen, his arms full of bread and cookies. “Silver, you should have told us—” He stops when Link steps away from Lucas, revealing his pregnant belly. “Oh my… congratulations!” He smiles wide, his dimples popping. “That’s so exciting!”

Lucas ducks his head bashfully. “Thanks.”

Quin deposits the loaves of bread and bags of cookies on the table and walks over to give Lucas a gentle hug. “It’s been so long. I’ve thought about you a lot, but I wasn’t sure where you ended up. You aren’t on social media anywhere. I checked.” Quin starts rambling about all the social media sites where he searched for Lucas’s name. “Oh my God, I missed you. Losing you was like losing a brother.”

I notice the way Lucas’s eyes well with tears, and how he brushes them away so no one can see.

“I was just, you know, busy,” Lucas stammers.

“How far along are you? Can I ask?” He backs up to eye Lucas’s belly. “I mean, obviously I’m going to ask anyway, because I’m nosy like that. You have the cutest baby bump ever.”

Lucas rubs his belly with his hand. “Thank you. I’m six months along.”

That’s when I notice Coin in the doorway. Unlike Quin, who either didn’t notice the bruise on Lucas’s cheek or chose to ignore it, Coin stares right at it. “Lucas is your houseguest?”

I nod.

“And you couldn’t be bothered to tell us?” he asks.

“Things are a little complicated right now,” I say.

Coin approaches Lucas slowly, reaching up and brushing his thumb just below the bruise on Lucas’s cheek. “Who?”

“No one. Silver’s taking care of me. Don’t worry about it.”

Coin lowers his hand. “Okay. But if you ever need anything…”

“I’ll be fine,” Lucas reassures him.

Coin holdsout his arms to Lucas. Not above his head, like Link, but low and hesitant. He’s always been so careful with Lucas, even when we were little kids. It’s Lucas who wraps his arms around Coin first. Coin lets out a breath in relief and holds Lucas tightly in his arms. “Are you okay?” he asks softly.

Lucas nods.

Coin pulls away first. He stands there, his face etched with concern for a full beat. He opens his mouth to say something, then shuts it again.

Since when is Coin speechless about anything?

A loud, familiar giggle comes from the other room.

“Did you bring Chime?” I ask.

Coin rolls his eyes. “He brought everyone, even though I specifically?—”

An enormous, tattooed man walks into the room with Chime sitting atop his shoulders. Slade. Who invited him? Chime is grinning from ear to ear and singing something about a bear in a tree. He smiles back at her and sings along with his deep, booming voice. Quin looks up at them with such adoration, I almost forget that Slade is a murderer and doesn’t deserve my brother.

“You probably remember Slade from high school. He’s my mate now,” Quin says. “I mean, obviously I have a mate now.” He frames his face with his hands, calling attention to his new nose ring and dermal piercings. “That’s why I have all the bling.”

Lucas looks up at Slade, who is admittedly handsome, in a rugged, bad-boy kind of way.

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