Page 177 of Mad Love

Royal scoffed. “No. Fucking Beckett always thought he was untouchable. He had a basic one, but Ash disabled it before we got here.”

“Cori?” I called, my voice echoing around the large foyer as I tried to figure out where she’d gone.

A giggle reached my ears first, the sound making me sigh in relief, as Cori appeared at the end of the hall where I knew the kitchen was. “I’m hungry!” She whirled and disappeared.

Chuckling, I glanced at Royal as he tossed our bags by the front door. “Guess I should see what’s around to cook.”

“We can always order in,” he added, following me down the hall to the kitchen.

Right before I stepped into the kitchen, Corinne jumped out in front of me and yelled, “Boo!”

I bit my lip to keep from swearing in front of her, practically falling backward into Royal. He caught my biceps and steadied me as I gasped.

“That wasn’t nice,” Royal chastised, which might’ve meant more if he didn’t sound like he was smiling.

“I got you, Maddie!” Corinne singsonged, twirling away and yanking open the refrigerator door. “Didn’t I get her good, Royal?”

“Sure did, shortcake,” he agreed with a rumbling laugh.

I elbowed his hard stomach, pretty sure I did more damage to myself than him. “Jerk.”

“Can we have pancakes?” Corinne asked, turning to look at us with big eyes. “Or mac and cheese? The kind from the box?”

I frowned. “You want pancakes and mac and cheese?”

She blinked at me, uncertainty in her eyes. “Yes?”

I huffed a laugh and stepped around her to start opening doors to the pantry. “Let’s see what we’ve got, kiddo.”

Nothing.

We had a whole lot of nothing, which wasn’t exactly surprising since no one had lived here in over a month. Hell, most of the lighting fixtures and surfaces had a layer of dust on them. The few things left in the fridge were old and growing colorful spots.

Royal leaned a hip against the island countertop. “Order in?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Corinne’s face fell. “But they never have the good mac and cheese.”

I had to agree; the boxed kind was pretty superior, even if the cheese was powdered.

“I can make a quick run to the grocery store,” Royal offered.

Cori’s entire face lit up. “Really?”

He nodded. “Sure.” He looked at me. “We’re gonna need groceries anyway. I mean, I’m guessing there isn’t anything in here that isn’t expired or spoiled. We’ll need milk and shit for breakfast.”

“That’s a bad word,” Corinne told Royal, her face utterly serious.

Royal winced. “You’re right. Sorry, Cor.”

“Juniper Forrest’s daddy has a swear jar,” Cori informed him, climbing up onto a stool.

His face screwed up. “Who names their kid Juniper?” He shook his head. “Freaking rich people.”

“Whatever you say, Royal,” I teased.

“Exactly my point,” he retorted with a heavy breath. “Okay, and special requests from the store?”

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