Page 68 of Whisper Of Attraction (Whisper Lake 3)

“No drinking. No drugs. No prostitution. No murder.”

She was really living up to her nickname and being a huge pain in the ass. He glared at her, waiting for her to answer him seriously.

Now it was her turn to sigh, and her head fell back in exasperation. When she raised it, she also lifted her hand so she could count things off on her fingers. “Tell you where I’m going. Be where I say I’m going to be.” She lowered her forefinger and extended her middle finger, flipping him the bird briefly before she smiled re-lifted her forefinger adding her ring finger as well as she said, “Tell you if any plans change. Answer if you call and message you back if you text within five minutes.” She held her hand up, all of her fingers extended. “Happy? Can we go now? You’re making me late.”

“I’m making you late?”

“Whatever, can we go?”

He nodded and followed behind her. The two walked down the steps, across the deck and into the house. The moment Izzy stepped inside the girls shrieked, ran over, and threw their arms around her. The three girls had become fast friends. Yesterday they even bought matching friendship bracelets. Not the ones that he remembered people having when he was a kid, the kind that were handmade, with thread braided together. No, the ones his sister and her friends had were silver bands engraved with the words “side by side, or miles apart, we are friends connected by heart.”

It amazed him how much Izzy fit right in. Like she’d known this group her entire life. She talked to her friends and the adults with a familiarity that he’d only seen his baby sister share with him.

Izzy and Brynn were working closely together on the play and had bonded in a way he’d never witnessed, even between Izzy and her own mother. And his little sis worshipped Jess. She couldn’t stop talking about her punk pinup style and how cool she was. And she and Ali shared a corny sense of humor. The two of them cracked each other up.

Ryder treated her like a little sister. KJ was as protective of her as he was the rest of the group. And Ricky was totally smitten.

Axel watched as Jess, Ali, and Brynn all ordered the kids into different groupings and poses. Their costumes were impressive. Brynn had been staying up until the early morning hours for weeks now making them at her kitchen table. He’d given Izzy the bedroom, so he was camping out on the Murphy bed next to the window that overlooked the main house. Each night he’d watched her work tirelessly to get each of the costumes completed. He’d offered to buy Izzy’s dress, but Brynn insisted that it was some kind of tradition for her to make everyone’s costumes.

Izzy included.

His chest ached with emotions he didn’t want to address.

He’d been worried about how he would deal with leaving this place once the assignment ended. But now it wasn’t just him that he needed to worry about. Izzy was going to be devastated. He hadn’t told her the real reason he was here, but she knew it was temporary. The problem was, none of this felt temporary. It felt like the most permanent thing he’d ever experienced.

***

“I can’t believehow old they’re getting,” Ali sniffed as Jess fixed the beard that she’d put on Ricky while Brynn took pictures on her phone.

Between Ali and Brynn, they’d probably taken a couple hundred today. They’d had some of all the girls, some of all the boys, several of each individual couple, and a bunch of the whole group together.

“Okay, mom. That’s good. We’re gonna go.” Ryder had been really patient with her considering he was thirteen and his girlfriend was there. A lot of kids wouldn’t have indulged their parents for this long and she appreciated it.

“Do you have your bag?”

“Yeah.” He showed his mom that he had his backpack beneath the Night’s Watch cloak that she’d made him.

Ryder was going to be staying over at Ali’s with the twins after the festival and she’d heard that Izzy would be staying at Fiona’s, which meant this would be the first time she and Axel would be alone since the night they’d hooked up.

“All right, guys. Have fun. Be safe. Make sure to watch out for the little kids.” Last year there were some issues with grade school kids getting scared by high schoolers. She remembered thinking about how Ryder would be a freshman in a year and now he was. It was crazy how fast time went.

The group agreed, or at least humored her, and Ryder gave Brynn a quick hug before they all headed out the front door. She watched as the group started toward downtown and snapped one more pic of them all walking together from behind. She just couldn’t help herself.

When she closed the door and headed into the kitchen, she noticed Axel was already halfway across the deck and heading up to the apartment. A twinge of disappointment pinched in her chest. She knew that he probably wouldn’t want to hang out with her and her friends and share a glass of wine, but she’d at least wished that he would’ve spoken to her.

The only conversations that they’d had in the past few weeks had been initiated by her, surprise-surprise, and they’d all centered around Izzy. All of his sister’s teachers were absolutely floored by just how gifted she was. She was also incredibly sweet and ambitious. In the short time she’d been in Whisper Lake, she’d spearheaded a buddy lunch program so no kid ever had to eat by themselves and was currently collecting signatures for her healthy lunch initiative.

She truly was a remarkable young lady.

“I mean, that’s a view I just don’t think I’d ever get tired of seeing.” Jess commented and Brynn realized that all three women had been standing at the sliding door watching Axel go up the stairs.

Ali shook her head in mock disapproval and tsked. “Must I remind you that you’re almost a married woman?”

Jess didn’t miss a beat. “Must I remind you, you are already a married woman?”

Ali’s hands flew up. “I didn’t say anything!”

“Maybe not, but you were thinking it,” Jess challenged.

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