Both Jack and Sorel throw me a look before Sorel snorts out, “Only if they’re lucky, though I don’t mind finishing first.” She winks at me. “Is that your way of saying you got hot and heavy in the elevator on the way up?” Sorel looks way too pleased by that thought.
Jack raises a dismissive eyebrow. “We got stuck in the elevator.”
Sorel’s jaw drops, and she places a hand on my forearm. “Oh my god! Are you okay? I so would not be okay if I got stuck in an elevator.”
“We’re fine,” I explain, waving it away. “It wasn’t that long. Five minutes maybe.”
“Wren got a little panicked, but I helped her work it out.”
I kick his foot and throw him a death glare that should make his balls shrivel. Instead, he smiles at me, and even though it’s cocky and not kind, it’s a look I so rarely see on him, and it throws me off even more. It’s annoying how gorgeous he is. Why couldn’t he look like a toad’s ass, warts and all, to match his personality, instead of a sexy god-like creature?
“I’m glad you’re both okay,” she says with an amused lilt and curve of her lips, her eyes on Jack as if she’s hoping he’ll relay something to her that he better not.
“Did you say you got trapped in the elevator?” Katy asks. She’s holding Willow on one hip and a margarita in her other hand. That’s why I like Katy. She’s my people.
“Yes! How is that even still a thing?” I exclaim.
“Bennett!” Katy shouts. “What did you do to the elevator here?”
“What? Nothing. I swear.” He half chuckles from across the room where he’s talking to Owen and Alden, but his hands shoot up defensively. Clearly Alden and Keegan hit it off enough that it lasted through the weekend.
Katy shakes her head and turns back to us. “Bennett is elevator cursed. Never get on one with him or you will get stuck. That happened to us a couple of times now, and it hasn’t been a picnic.”
“I’ll be sure to make a note of that,” Jack quips playfully. “I think the last time I was on an elevator with him, the lights flickered, so you might be onto something there.”
“Jack,” Bennett greets him with a loud shout. “Finally, someone here with some sense. Come here and settle this betfor me. Bring my kid with you while you’re at it so my wife can relax.”
“Come here, Willow.” Jack holds out his hands and Willow excitedly jumps into his arms, and he kisses her on the nose. “That’s my big girl.”
“Unkwa Jwak.”
“Excuse me, ladies.” He dips his mouth toward my ear. “Glad you’re feeling better now, Cinderella.”
“Please die so you can return to your underworld, Satan.”
“Vampires are already dead and can’t die twice.” He winks at me as he walks off, holding Willow in his arms, and yep, he’s a total dead man for saying that. And for making my ovaries explode. What is it about a hot guy holding a toddler? I’ll have to plot this out so I don’t get caught and my brother and his sister don’t know it’s me, but I’m thinking I’ll remove his lungs first.
“Five bucks says Willow is back in my arms within the next five minutes.” Katy sighs, but there’s no heat to it, only smiles. “She is the ultimate mama’s girl.”
Sorel is still giving me looks I’m going to choose to ignore. She’s friends with Jack, and I wonder if he confided in her. I hope not. As it is, only Tinsley knows the truth, and that’s how I’d like to keep it.
“Hey!” Kenna gives me a big hug. “I’m so glad you’re here.” She pulls back, and I notice the three oddly shaped braids in her hair. She snickers when she sees me noticing it. “Just wait. You’re next. Rory already told me she wants to braid your hair. She’s working on Keegan now.”
“This is when having shorter hair is a blessing,” Sorel states.
“Now you know why I cut mine to my shoulders,” Katy quips, half-joking.
Kenna juts her thumb over her shoulder, and I glance over there and start to crack up when I spot an excited Rory.
“Then I’ll be just as fabulous as you are.”
“Most definitely,” Katy agrees, only to have her attention diverted by loud laughter and my brother shouting something. She smiles indulgently as she continues to watch them. “I wish Bennett got to hang out with Jack and Owen more. Since we had Willow, we hardly ever go out, and I feel like Bennett does even less frequently than I do. It makes me happy that he and Owen are close and that Jack moved back.”
“I think Jack gets to see Bennett some at work, but yeah,” Sorel agrees. “It’s not always so easy for us to have days like these. We should have a party or something with all of us. Certainly, before this baby comes.”
I take a sniff of whatever drink Sorel thrust into my hand. Rum and coke? The strong scent of rum hits me in the worst possible of ways, and I shudder involuntarily. I set it down on a table behind me and do my best not to think about that smell or allow any other thoughts other than what we’re discussing to curl their way into my brain.
“That’d be fun.” I throw on a bright smile. “I’d host it, but my place is too small.”