Page 85 of Tango Down

“Yo, food’s here!” I yelled.

“All the kids can go wash their paws!” Roe hollered. “Jake, can you get the door?”

“I’m hurrying, Uncle Crew! Don’t rush me!” Sammie complained.

“How am I rushing you, princess?” I widened my arms.

It was Finlay mayhem, and I loved it. The kids ran through the house, with Jack walking at a normal pace with Colin, Roe and Jake’s eldest. They’d grown pretty close.

I headed back to the terrace with sodas, napkins, and utensils, and I sat down next to Adrien. He looked content, so that boded well for the future. Not everyone could handle loud families.

“I love this place,” he admitted, looking out over the backyard. We were in the middle of Marina del Rey, so most properties were fairly cramped. And still extremely expensive. But yeah, it was gorgeous.

Jake was a hobby gardener too, so he took care of the place well. From the rose bushes to the lemon trees.

“I loveyou.” I leaned in and kissed his cheek quick.

He smiled and threaded our fingers together. “I don’t think hearing that will ever get old.”

I grinned. Good, ’cause I liked saying it.

“Speaking of our undying love…” He was cute when he was trying to broach a topic lightheartedly. “Have you considered us possibly moving in together one day?”

I laughed and tucked a napkin into my tee. “Only every time I gotta leave your place and drive back to my shoebox. Why—you ready, papi?” ’Cause I was game. Maybe after the holidays. His dad was going on some old-folks trip to Santa Fe, of all places, for Christmas, so Adrien and Jack were coming with me to New York. If they survived, they could handle anything.

“Well…I do hate seeing you drive back to your shoebox,” he replied. Was he uncomfortable? Nervous? He had no reason to be. I was fucking nuts about us. “And I guess I wouldn’t mind seeing us in a house like this.”

Shit, for real?

“How much gold did you take in Colombia?”

He snorted softly and rolled his eyes. “Perhaps not in MDR—but Los Feliz?” That was where his old man lived. It was nice up there.

“Why are you all…” I pointed to his face. “I don’t know, awkward.”

He cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. “It’s what you do to me, punk.” Oh, so now he got defensive too. “I’ve never felt so out of control before.”

He knew exactly what to say to make me fucking melt.

“Because you’ve never loved anyone as much as you love me?” I pressed.

He narrowed his eyes. “You already know that’s the case—could you please put me out of my misery?”

And he was supposed to be this world-class special agent? Couldn’t he read the stupid grin on my mug?

I planted my hands along his face and got up in his business. “Adrien Mercier, let’s get a freaking house after the holidays. I got gold.”

He spluttered on a laugh and squeezed me to him. “God—don’t ever change, Crew. I never know what you’re going to say.”

That was the kicker, wasn’t it? I’d finally met someone I didn’t have to force anything with. I was just myself, and I woke up every morning wanting more of him.

* * *

When it came to kids, I had a lot of experience with babies. They never stopped screaming and so on. But the older ones? Roe and Jake’s kids were getting older, and Jack had shown me a new world too. In which they just fucking disappeared. Like, you saw them during meals, when they needed a ride somewhere, when they wanted something, and when it was time to go to bed. But that was it. As soon as we’d finished eating, they vanished.

Like, what the fuck? Was I not interesting enough?

I blew out a breath and patted my stomach. I’d eaten too much again.

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