Page 38 of My Knight

Final two.

She smiled at me like she already knew how this was going to go.

We took our spoons. Dove set the eggs.

“Ready…” she called. “Set… GO!”

We were off.

I stayed steady. Careful. Focused.

Saylor was just a step behind and laughed the entire way.

I hit the sprinkler, and I was confident I had this made.

My boot caught on wet grass, and suddenly, I was airborne. SHIT.

I landed right on my ass—and on the egg.

“SHIT,” I called.

There was egg everywhere. In my jeans. On my jeans. That thing had exploded like a damn grenade.

“Oh no,” Saylor laughed as she ran past me. “You fell.” As if I didn’t know it.

“You’re disqualified, Pirate!” Dove called.

I sat up and watched as Saylor headed back down the obstacle course. All she had to do was not drop the egg, but she was flying. She crossed the finish line a few seconds later, victorious with her egg intact and a smile on her face.

“Fastest time of the day!” Dove shouted. “Girls win the first-ever Iron Fiends Cup!”

The girls screamed and jumped and high-fived like they’d just won the World Series. The guys groaned and muttered—but it was all good-natured. Mostly.

Fade and Adalee reappeared with trays of burgers and hot dogs. The guys moved to help man the grill while Adalee and Fallon brought out sides—pasta salad, baked beans, chips, and corn on the cob.

Everyone else sprawled across chairs and blankets in the grass and soaked in the sun.

I dropped onto a chair, still damp from the egg, and pulled Saylor down into my lap. She went willingly, soft and warm against me.

“You doing okay?” I asked and brushed her hair back from her cheek.

She leaned against me with a content sigh. “Way better than your egg is doing.”

I groaned. “Yeah, well, I never said I was an athlete, babe.”

She laughed softly and wiggled a little as she settled deeper into my chest.

I wrapped my arms around her, and held her tight.

“I like this,” she said, her voice lower now. “Not just today. I mean… I do love the girls. But I was talking about this. You and me.”

Her words hit me square in the chest.

I wasn’t surprised by the feeling—I’d been dealing with that. But hearing her say it, out loud, with no hesitation?

Yeah, that surprised me.

In the best way.

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