Page 92 of Heartbreaker

It’s incredible to watch them together.

He probably doesn’t realize it, but he will make an amazing father.

Which gets my ovaries practically swooning with excitement.

Not that I want a baby any time soon, but Royal’s baby?

Oh, yes.

With my light hair, his blue eyes, and definitely his height. And my vocal chords.

It’s all I can do not to giggle at the thought.

Except Frankie is waiting for me to make my move.

And when I do, I’m going to win.

I meet Royal’s gaze across the table, and he seems to understand my hesitation. He gives me a barely perceptible nod so I go ahead and declare victory. Frankie looks shocked at first, and then to my surprise, everyone starts laughing.

“She lets everyone win the first time they play,” Royal whispers, grinning. “Then she moves in for the kill in game two.”

I roll my eyes. “Fine. We’ll see.”

“All right.” Briar looks at Frankie. “You need to get cleaned up before dinner and let us adults have a little time with Jade too. You’ve monopolized her since she arrived.”

“But she’s my friend!” Frankie protests.

“She’s our friend too,” her mother responds. “You’re going to play guitar for her after dinner, but now, we’re going to have grown-up talk.”

“Fi-ine.” Frankie makes a face but gives in good-naturedly.

“She’s so cute,” I say when she’s taken the Connect Four game back to her room.

“Full of piss and vinegar sometimes,” Briar grins, “and she keeps all five of us on our toes.”

“Imagine how boring it would be if she didn’t,” I say.

“There’s that,” Briar agrees.

“I hope this little one is a littlelessinteresting as I get later in my pregnancy,” Aspen murmurs, rubbing her belly. “I’m so tired of being nauseated.”

“Do you need anything?” Mrs. X asks her. The older woman, who seems like a cross between housekeeper and mother hen, has been bustling around the kitchen, refusing to let any of us help. She’s finally sitting down, but I notice how she hovers around Aspen.

Well, they all seem to.

“I’m fine,” Aspen says with a soft smile. “I took the anti-nausea meds because I didn’t want to spend the whole daypuking in front of poor Jade. Except I forgot how sleepy they make me.”

“Don’t worry about me,” I say, shaking my head. “You can puke or nap or whatever else you need to do. I’ll probably just be in Frankie’s room losing at Connect Four anyway.”

Everyone chuckles.

Aspen nestles into Banks’s side, her eyelids heavy, and I can’t help but notice how much love there is in the room. It’s almost palpable, the way they care about each other.

I’ve never had relationships like this one. Not since my grandmother died. But even then, it was different. She loved me to pieces, but she was from a different generation, where she worried about appearances, behavior, manners, and lots of other things that kept her from being physically affectionate.

That’s not the case here.

“I’m going to check the brisket and put some bread in the oven,” Briar says, giving Mrs. X a look. “You stay right there.”

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