Page 28 of Skid
“Give ‘em another year. They’ll turn it around.”
“Didn’t you say that last year?”
Memphis opened his mouth to argue but to my surprise, he shook his head and let it go. I glanced over at Laken and my chest tightened when I found her tucked into the circle of ol’ ladies, talking and laughing like she’d known them forever. Baylor was on the floor, playing a game with Luna, and every so often, Laken would glance down at them, checking to make sure they were okay.
She looked happy. They both did, and damn if it didn’t do my heart good. I leaned back in my chair as I muttered, “She’s making it pretty good over there, don’t ya think?”
Memphis and Ghost blinked at me like they were trying to figure out what the hell I was talking about. I hadn’t meant to say it out loud. I was just thinking out loud. Neither of them said a word.
No teasing.
No smart assed comments.
They both just took another bite of pie and smiled. I jabbed my fork into my pie as I grumbled, “Don’t make it weird.”
Memphis snorted, “Too late.”
I shook it off and said, “Just good to see her getting along so well. Hell, you’d think she’d been coming here for years.”
“She does seem to get along well with everyone.” Ghost leaned toward me. “Some people have a way of walking into a room and folding right in like they were part of the blueprint.”
“Yeah, that’s it. Part of the blueprint.”
Memphis watched me watching her, and after a moment, he nudged me and said, “Feels good, don’t it?”
The question landed right in my chest, making it feel warm and tight at the same time.
“Yeah,” I said, eyes still on her. “It really damn does.”
I went back to eating, but the second Laken glanced my way and our eyes met, I lost all interest in my pie. Damn. I was donefor. Without saying a word, I pushed back from the table and stood. Memphis gave me the side-eye as he asked, “Fourth plate already?”
“Third, but I need a break first.”
I started over to the circle of women, but they were too busy talking to notice. As I got closer, I heard Laken say, “He’s the sweetest thing ever, and he’s not a bad kisser either.”
“Do tell,” Antonia, Memphis’s ol’ lady, pushed.
“Well, I don’t want to kiss and tell….” Laken leaned in as she whispered, “But I can barely look at the man’s lips without getting all hot and bothered. It’s becoming a problem, but don’t tell him I said that.”
Too late, sweetheart.
It wasn’t like her to open up so easily, so I couldn’t help but take it as a good sign that she was talking so freely with the girls. I took it as an even better sign that she was talking about me and my lips. A proud smirk crossed my face as I leaned in and whispered, “What was that?”
The whole group froze like they’d been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Then Jenna whipped around and smacked my arm, fussing, “You can’t be sneaking up on us like that.”
“Why not?” I teased. “You afraid I might hear you girls gossiping about me?”
Laken’s cheeks were red with embarrassment as she asked, “How much did you hear?”
“Enough.”
“Don’t you have some pie that needs eating?”
“Yeah.” Antonia waved her hand at me, shooing me away. “Get back to your pie.”
“I’m going. I’m going.” I leaned against the arm of the sofa and smiled. “I was just making sure my girls were okay.”
“Of course, they are okay.” Antonia cocked her brow. “But you won’t be if you don’t skedaddle.”
