Page 96 of Fool Me Twice

“Do you know where we can arm ourselves and arrange a retaliation?”

“I’m already on it.” I led her to the den, where I opened a drawer and pulled out two dart guns already loaded. “You go through the kitchen and I’ll wait at the base of the stairs. When you flush him out, I’ll get him.”

“Excellent.” Her eyes glowed with the thrill of the hunt.

Crouched on the bottom step behind the railing, I eyed the doorway and waited. This wasn’t the first time Sebastián and I had played this game, and while he’d beat me more times than I could count, I was getting smarter.

As soon as I heard footsteps coming, I got into position. At the first sign of movement, I pulled the trigger multiple times, shooting my opponent square in the chest.

Except… Sebastián’s “square in the chest” was Rodrigo’s “right in the thigh.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, really? That’s how it is?”

“Oops.”

Rodrigo was on me in a second, wrestling the dart gun from my grip—not that I fought him.

I also didn’t fight when he wrapped his arms around me. Or smoothed the hair back from my face. Or pulled me in for a kiss.

Somewhere in the house, there were distant yells as Sebastián and Maddie went head-to-head. I was lost in a hazy dreamland, though, far too distracted to care.

Until little footsteps ran into the foyer and, for propriety’s sake, I broke the kiss.

“I guess I lost,” I told Sebastián.

“So did Maddie.” He grinned with pride.

“Melba is still the reigning household champ, though,” I reminded him.

His eyes went wide. “I don’t understand how she’s so good! She’s like a ninja!”

“Experience, I guess,” I giggled.

Rodrigo’s palms were still spread across my back, and I leaned into his warmth. This was it right here. My safe haven. My dream come to life.

His hand dipped lower, tucking into the small of my back. “Meet me downstairs in thirty?”

“Yep.” I gave him a quick kiss and then went upstairs to change for dinner.

As it was Melba’s day off, Maddie had offered to babysit. At first, I’d worried that would taking advantage of her, but it soon became clear that she really enjoyed hanging out with Sebastián. The same as he did with her.

Essentially, they played video games and talked about comics whenever they were together, so I guess at heart Maddie was an eleven-year-old.

After putting on a tight green dress and black heels, I made my way back downstairs. Rodrigo waited in the foyer, looking up at me as if he were my prom date.

By the time I reached the bottom step, I must have been blushing from head to toe.

“You’re gorgeous,” he breathed.

I looked down and bit into a smile. “I try.”

His hand slipped into mine, and he kissed the tender spot at the top of my neck. “You don’t even need to try. You just are.”

Still hanging onto his hand, I led him to the door. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Oh, really? Okay.”

---