Page 8 of Loco

His smirk deepened. “Nope.”

Of course not.

Still unaware she’d just walked us into a war zone, Evie rocked back on her heels. “Since you’re both here, I should mention—I want to do a small get-together this weekend. Just family and close friends so everyone can meet Elora properly.”

My stomach dropped.

Roque grinned. Like he already knew what I was going to say.

“No.” I shook my head quickly. “Nope. Not happening.”

Evie frowned. “What? Why?”

I opened my mouth, grasping for a reasonable excuse, but Roque beat me to it.

“She’s just worried she won’t be able to resist me if we’re in the same space for too long,” he said smoothly, crossing his arms like the absolute menace he was.

I nearly dropped the baby. The pure, unfiltered audacity of this man.

Evie snorted, covering her mouth, but her shoulders shook with silent laughter.

I sucked in a slow breath through my nose, forcing a tight smile. “I’d rather lick a public toilet seat.”

“Sayla,”Evie scolded, but she was still laughing.

Not helping.

Roque’s lips twitched. “So, you’re saying there’s a chance.”

I wished the only thing I had to throw at him wasn’t a gorgeous little baby. Instead, I shifted Elora slightly, kissing the top of her tiny head as if that was my entire focus and not murdering the man in front of me.

Evie sighed dramatically. “Look, I know you two have your…thing.”

“We don’t have a thing,”I cut in.

“You absolutely have a thing,”she corrected, ignoring my death glare. “But for one night, can we all just pretend to be functional adults and celebrate the newest addition to the family?”

Roque turned to me, lifting an eyebrow. “Well? Can you be a functional adult, Sayla?”

I wanted to punch him in the teeth.

Instead, I pasted on the sweetest, most insincere smile I could muster. “I’ll be there,”I assured sweetly, then added, “I just hope your house isn’t mysteriously set on fire before then.”

Roque chuckled the deep, infuriatingly attractive laugh that made me hate him more.

Evie sighed, clearly regretting every life decision that had led her to be trapped between us. Elora, however, yawned in my arms and curled in closer. At least one Edwards wasn’t an absolute pain in my ass.

Chapter 3

Sayla

Moving into my dream home was supposed to be a fresh start. It was supposed to be a place of peace, a sanctuary from bad decisions, questionable life choices, and men with smug smiles that made my blood pressure spike. Then Roque moved in across the street. And just like that, my fresh start felt more like a sick joke the universe was playing on me.

I had no intention of acknowledging his existence. If I ignored him hard enough, maybe he’d disappear. Like a stubborn stain or an ex-boyfriend’s number I refused to delete but never actually called.

Unfortunately, small-town life—and the nosy brigade that came with it—had other ideas.

That evening, things in my new home got worse.

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