Page 159 of Don't Let Me Go (Don't Let Me 2)

“Cause now you owe all the kids fifty bucks each,” Mia explains. She collapses onto the kitchen chair next to Ash and steals her spoon, scooping up a bite of ice cream from the cardboard container.

I scratch my temple, convinced I’m hallucinating. Either that, or my hearing is out of whack. “I’m sorry, what?”

“Colt said Theo would pay each of the kids fifty bucks if you and him ‘scored’ after the game,” Mia explains with a wry grin, using her fingers as air-quotes.

The blood drains from my face. “He did not.”

“Oh, he most definitely did,” Ash informs me, shamelessly.

The toilet flushes from down the hall, and Colt steps into the hallway. When he sees us, he turns to Ash and raises his brows.

With a laugh, she nods, and Colt jerks his elbow back, his hand fisted, and bows his head in triumph. “Yes!” Then he turns to Theo. “Dude, you’re out like six hundred bucks. Hope it was worth it.”

Theo rolls his eyes but looks down at me still pressed to his side and drops a kiss to my forehead. “Worth every penny, man.”

Sometimes, it’s a little weird how cool Colt is with the whole me dating his best friend thing, but in a way, it’s kind of awesome too. At least he was one barrier we didn’t have to hurdle to find our happiness, even if it did just cost Theo six hundred bucks.

Then again, maybe we can pay the little monsters with our leftover arcade money.

“We’re gonna head to Colt’s tonight,” Ash says as she pushes the almost-empty ice cream carton toward Mia and stands up. “But we need to catch up––and soon––because a little bird told me Theo may or may not have chosen the Lions’ contract but wanted to run his decision by you before he turned in the contract, which means…” Her voice trails off, and she gives me a pointed look.

“Which means we need to buy some new Lions’ merchandise,” I finish for her.

She squeals and pulls me into a hug. “So, you guys talked about it? And you’re both on the same page?”

I nod, digging my teeth into my lower lip to keep from grinning like a loon. But I’m so damn happy, I can’t help it.

“Yay!” She lets me go and threads her arm through Colt’s. “Okay. We’ll definitely be talking later about this, but we kinda have to go.”

“Sounds like a plan,” I reply. “Bye, guys.”

As they head out the door, Theo grabs my waist and pulls me against him. “Hey, Blake?”

“Yes?”

“Is this going to be a normal thing? Where you talk about me like I’m not in the room?”

“Is that a problem, Teddy Bear?” I challenge, hooking my arms around his neck.

He rolls his eyes and drops a kiss to my forehead, slowly swaying us back and forth in the center of the family room. And I love it. The ease. The comfortable silence.

“You’re always gonna be a Thorne in my side, aren’t you?” he murmurs.

“Would you have it any other way?”

His smile softens. “Nah. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“Oh, really? Not even my bossiness?” I bat my lashes up at him with the most syrupy sweet smile I can manage.

He grins. “Nope.”

“How about my addiction to cinnamon?”

“Gonna buy stock in McCormick and Big Red as soon as I get my bonus.”

I laugh and drop my forehead to his strong chest. “And my obsession with bets?”

His hands slide down my waist, and he squeezes my ass. “How do you think you won me over in the first place?”

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