Page 69 of Defending her Heart

“Hey.” I tip my chin at the object of all my nefarious thoughts and tuck my hands in the back pockets of my pants.

“Oh, you’re acknowledging my existence now?” she says with sass and a grin.

“I didn’t want to intrude on your time with Paisley. Because, you know, it’s not like you see her every day.”

“Monday through Friday, not every day.”

Still more than me.

Christ. Jealous of an almost-six-year-old. I need to get my priorities straight. “You look nice tonight. Not that you don’t always look nice, but...you know what I mean.”

“You’re just saying that because I have to wear a turtleneck again.”

My chest puffs out with pride. Hell. What can I say? I’m a guy. “Any other places you needed to cover up?”

I rake my eyes down her body, stopping at her tits where I know I left bite marks, down to her thighs, where I’ve done my share of licking and nipping. Her quads flex through her leggings and I chuckle at her reaction.

“Stop,” she whispers.

“Stop what?” I sip my iced tea and watch her squirm.

“Dinner’s ready,” Riley calls out.

“Saved by the bell.” We gather in the dining room where there’s a few minutes of commotion as everyone figures out where to sit.

Paisley wants to sit between Buck and Kendall, so I take the seat to Kendall’s right. Once everyone is settled and the food has been passed around, we bow our heads as Walker says grace.

As soon as he’s done, we all dive into our food. If my hand happens to find its way to Kendall’s thigh, and my pinky accidentally brushes up against her pussy, I can’t help it. She brushes my hand away, but every time she takes a bite, I put my hand back.

She kicks me and I chuckle. When I reach for my tea, I glance up and find Rowan and Riley staring at us with knowing smirks. She’s told them. A month ago, hell, a few weeks ago, this would have freaked me out. Now, I like people knowing about us. If there is in fact anus.

Walker, his brother and husband, and even Buck appear clueless to the chemistry between Kendall and me.

“Daddy,” Paisley interrupts my thoughts, and I lean forward, my eyes darting past Kendall’s boobs to see my daughter.

“Yeah, Sweet Pea?”

“Can Miss Wentworth and Uncle Jackson and Uncle Taylor and Uncle Walker and Aunt Riley and Auntie Rowan come to my birthday party and Buckie too?”

I start to ask her why everyone else isuncleandauntand Miles isBuckie, but I shake it off. “We’ll see. I need to check our schedules before planning a party.”

“Buckie said we could have one tomorrow because you have to leave on Sunday for your next game.”

“He did, did he?” I roll my eyes at Buck, who beams at me with laughing eyes. “It takes time to plan a party.”

“Nah. We’ll all chip in,” Buck says, taking out his phone. “We can do a group signup form. Who wants to bring what?”

“Can I have a ballerina cake?”

“Ballerina cake. On it,” Buck says.

“And a unicorn piñata?”

“Piñatas are my specialty.” Jackson taps away on his phone.

“And ice cream and Cheetos.”

“That’s something I can handle,” Walker offers.