Page 106 of The Forever Play

The second she asks the question, she blanches, cringing and looking down at the table.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blurt it like that. There’s no pressure. I just?—”

“Of course you can.” I stop her before she gets too worked up. “You can stay for as long as you want.”

Her eyebrows rise, and she looks around the kitchen. “You guys won’t mind?”

Grady shrugs. “Teah sleeps over all the time.”

“Teah doesn’t have a two-year-old.” Sienna cringes again, and I laugh and shake my head.

“Okay, so this will be the first time we’ve had a kid staying here, but…” I look down at my little girl. “You melt hearts, don’t you, sweetie?”

“Uh-huh.” She nods, obviously not knowing what I’m asking, and it makes Sienna laugh.

Zoey glances at her mom, sees her laughing, and quickly joins in, which in turn makes me and the guys start laughing too.

She really is the cutest kid.

Wily stands from his chair, towering over us as he carries his plate to the sink. “If you’re gonna stay, you’ll probably want to get some more stuff, right?”

Sienna slumps back in her seat, looking worried.

“I can go,” I offer.

“No way.” Her eyes bulge. “I don’t want you anywhere near that place. If he’s home, it’ll be a nightmare. I’ll just walk back and get some stuff.”

“Why didn’t you drive here?” I spear another mouthful of pancake with my fork.

“I couldn’t find my keys,” she murmurs. “I think they’re in Zoey’s other diaper bag along with my wallet and phone.” She covers her face with a groan. “I wasn’t thinkingstraight, and I didn’t want to start looking for it. Plus…” She makes a face. “It’s actually Russell’s car I’ve been using. I was supposed to get my parents’ when they left on their trip, but it was acting up, and in the end Russell told me I could just use his, and…” She shakes her head and finishes with a mumbled “You don’t need to know all of this.”

“I can drive you back there.” Wily smiles down at Sienna.

I spin in my seat, eyeing him up. “You’ll look after her?”

“Of course I will.” He shoots me an incredulous frown. “I’ll even take Tyrell. A little bulk flanking her might not be a bad idea.”

“He’s not going to hurt me,” Sienna assures us, but none of my teammates give a fuck. The guy is on our shit list now, and she’s not going back to that house without serious backup.

“He made you walk out in the cold in nothing but your pajamas.” Grady crosses his arms, making his defined biceps look even bigger and stronger. Good. I want her to see how safe she is here.

Sienna dips her eyes and softly murmurs, “I chose to walk out that way.”

“He must have done something to make you leave in such a hurry.” Wily flicks his hand in the air. “Plus, he made you cry. What a dou—” His eyes dart to Zoey, and he clears his throat. “What a dingleberry.”

Sienna lets out a weak laugh and rubs her arm, massaging her bicep for a second. A hot flash burns through me as I worry that Russell grabbed her, tried to intimidate her even more. I don’t want her going backthere, but like fuck I’m gonna order her around the way he did this morning.

That shithead!

Resting my hand lightly over hers, I catch her eye and hide all my angst with a soft question. “What do you want to do, Sparks?”

She sucks in a shaky breath and lets it out slowly, bobbing her head and answering with a slight quaver that has me riled all over again. “I’ll go back and get some things. It’ll be okay. But…” She glances at Wily. “Are you sure you don’t mind coming with me?”

Wily wipes his hands on a dish towel, his smile growing big and confident. “It would be my pleasure. Let me go get Tyrell too.” His face lights with glee. “Ooo, this is gonna be fun!”

“I don’t want…” Sienna’s words trail off as Wily dashes out of the kitchen, and I give her hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Don’t worry. They’ll be good.”

---