Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 55099 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55099 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
I needed Ash to get here so we could be miserable together.
“Your headliner has arrived!”
Hello, Noa.
I yawned and stretched out across my lounger. I’d opted for a double lounger because Ash had asked me to save him a spot. He’d be here soon with pizza. We were gonna talk shit about everyone together.
“Hiii!” Kit climbed out of the pool. “Are you gonna change—never mind.” He laughed, presumably because Noa was already busy throwing off his clothes.
Lucian, KC, and Cam came out too, and they sighed at their wild boy.
“I’m not picking that up, freckles,” KC told him. “Leave your clothes in the cabin before you jump in.”
“I can’t hear you, Daddy!” Noa sprinted across the deck, down past the loungers, and dove right in, naked as the day he was born.
I chuckled under my breath, glad I’d picked the other side of the pool. It was less of a splash zone.
Kingsley and Tate were dozing off in the lounger next to mine, River was snoring softly in another, while Reese and Shay prepared snacks, Lucas was scrolling on his phone, and Jack and Franklin were reading a book together in the corner.
Colt manned the grill, ready to sling hot dogs and burgers to those interested, and a handful of others were grouped off across the deck. Country music was playing, so Colt was clearly in charge there too.
I checked my phone. Furniture delivery in a little over an hour.
I’d break the news to the brats soon.
Ty and Lane were next to show up, having already changed into trunks and matching Ray-Bans.
Another couple who looked so damn in love.
Ash and I would talk shit about them too.
We weren’t bitter or anything.
“At long last!” Colt turned to Ty and Lane. The first two worked together; they used to be in the Air Force, and now they ran a security company. Though, technically, Colt was still a pilot. He’d never let anyone forget it either. Nor did Kit. When Colt was at Langley for one reason or another, Kit shouted it to the world.
“What’s this?” Colt eyed a container Lane had brought.
“It’s nothing you would like, Sir,” Lane responded.
Ty smirked and unwrapped what looked like two steaks. He placed them on the grill.
“Y’all got somethin’ against my burgers?” Colt challenged.
“You already forced fried chicken down my throat earlier,” Ty bitched. “Lemme have my steak and fuckin’ salad.”
I grinned to myself. I loved watching our members go at one another. More often than not, they were bickering family members rather than friends.
“Salad,” Colt scoffed. “On a goddamn Friday.”
I tuned them out when I finally spotted a familiar face in the doorway. Ash was another gentle giant with a primal mind, and he’d come straight from work, only stopping to get us a pizza.
I automatically sat up and raised my hand, and his gaze landed on me. His tired smile said everything. But unlike me, he stood every chance at winning his hubby back.
He greeted everyone on the way, and he detached the suspenders of his utility clothes.
“Hi, Mister Ash!” Noa waved from the pool.
“Hey, kiddo.” Ash had a grin for everybody, but those close to him could see through it.
I was prepared. I had a shoulder he could cry on, and I had a cooler for us. Iced tea for me, beer for him.
I rose to my feet and adjusted my bikini top, and then I got the first waft of melted cheese and pepperoni. Fuck yeah. Comfort food.
“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” He dropped the pizza box on the lounger, and then he enveloped me in a bear hug.
I let out a breath and locked my arms around his neck. “Ditto, honey. How are you?”
“I have Sinead O’Connor on repeat in the truck—what do you think?”
I winced and held him a little tighter.
“Everything sucks,” he muttered.
“I know.”
He pressed a kiss to my temple before ending the hug, and I—
“Are you okay, Sir?” I heard Tate ask.
Ash gave him a polite smile. “Don’t crash our pity party, pet.”
Some subs might recoil and offer space, but Tate wasn’t one of those.
He sat up straighter and squinted for the sun. “With all due respect, Sir, Macklin and I have our own MO when someone’s down. I will drown you in care packages.”
“He’s not kidding,” I said unnecessarily. It was one of the reasons it was impossible to hold a scowl in Tate’s direction. When he and Kingsley had broken up last year, I’d been quick to offer Tate a place to stay—for all the times he’d cheered me up when Ella and I had had a fight. Except, fight was the wrong word. We’d had…periods when we didn’t communicate.
Eventually, Tate and Kingsley had found their way back to each other. Much like Ash and Nathan should.
“You know what I like,” was Ash’s response. “I heard about your care package to Lucian. That sounds nice—without scented candles.”