Page 152 of Somebody's Watching Me
SiSi paused to glare at her husband. “Are you trying to be cute?”
“I don’t have to try.” Devon took her hand, and all was forgiven. “You better go, Ty. A woman that fine doesn’t like to wait. Trust me. I know.”
When they first met, Ben had been sure Devon wouldn’t last. It would take a particular type of man to match SiSi’s fire, and he had been so positive that a bow tie wearing teacher wasn’t going to be it. But he was happy to be wrong for the first time in a long time. Devon was good for Selah. He was good for SiSi, and Ben really couldn’t have asked for a better man to come into his family’s life.
Ty told them not to wait up and was out the door just as the noise level cranked higher. Ben winced. Why did everyone feel like they needed to shout in this house?
Simone came over to assess his tired state. “Texas?”
“Complicated.”
“Company complicated?” she asked. “Or life complicated?”
He didn’t want to tell her. Not tonight.
“Both, but nothing to worry about.”
“Come on.” Devon gave his wife a little shove. “We agreed to let the kids play cards, and now that Sammy is staying over, we’re going to have to separate him and Evie since he always accuses her of cheating.”
“She does cheat.” Simone glared at Ben. “Because someone taught her how.”
Ben shrugged, not at all ashamed. “Samuel needs a little competition. It’s good for him.”
“Well, then, I am so glad that you’re here to manage things,” she said as the stomping footsteps of children came marching down the stairs. “Why don’t you go ahead and talk to him now since we’re not starting for another hour?”
“Fine.” He grabbed Samuel out of the crowd of small humans. “Let’s go.”
“Hey! What did I do?” Samuel asked as the two of them went into the library. “I washed my face like SiSi said!”
Selah trailed behind them, with Livy not far behind. That’s how it was when the three of them were together. Where one went, the other two followed.
“Livy, could you get Evie for me?” Always helpful, Livy sped off, and Ben raised an eyebrow at his eldest. “I didn’t invite you in here.”
Hands behind his back, Selah rocked on his heels. “I’m here as Sammy’s representative in case he says anything that might get us into trouble.”
God, help him with these two.
“He hasn’t done anything wrong, Selah.” And yet… Ben’s head snapped down to his son, scanning Samuel for a blush on his neck. The one telltale sign that he was lying. “Have you done something wrong?”
Samuel flopped onto the corner chair, offering only a shrug, which translated to a maybe.
“Ben, you’re here!” Evie ran through the door, plowing into him at full force for a hug. “Are you playing games with us tonight?”
He grinned down at the rainbows on her cheeks. Ty must have forced every single kid to get their face painted so he could talk to that woman. “Yes, but I want to discuss something with you and Samuel. We want to have fun tonight, and that means no fighting.”
“I won’t fight,” Evie said innocently. “I’m not the one that starts the fights, anyway.”
Samuel huffed. “Yeah, right.”
“She doesn’t.” Surprising them all, Toby slinked out from behind the desk, holding a cat in his arms. “Sammy always starts the fights.”
On his feet, Samuel’s hands fisted at his side. “No, I don’t.”
The sweet smile on Evie’s lips dropped in a flash. “Yes, you do.”
“Yeah, well, you cheat.”
The rainbows on Evie’s face turned various shades of red, the paint cracking as she opened her mouth wide to let Samuel have it.
