Page 43 of This Wild Heart

Paige melted. “Our kid is awesome. How could anyone not be nice to him?”

Greer held up her glass like,see?

I set my chin on my hand, elbow braced on the table, and pinned my sister with a look. “What about that time you threatened a child?”

Logan’s eyebrows popped up.

Greer rolled her eyes. “Why are my siblings so obsessed with bringing up shit from the past? He was bullying my stepdaughter, and all I did was ask him a simple question.”

Paige leaned in, eyes rapt. “What was the question?”

“I merely asked what would happen if someone took a nail gun to his balls.” She smiled. “It was hypothetical.”

Paige laughed in delight. “You’d fit in so well in our family.”

I shook my head. “This is why you don’t scare me, Mrs. Ward. Because my sister is an absolute terror.”

“Please, call me Paige.”

“I would,” I answered politely, “but I’m scared shitless of your husband.”

All three women at the table laughed. Anya leaned in as she did, and my fingers brushed unconsciously over the curve of her shoulder.

Kissing her might have been stupid, but it wasn’t a mistake. Without it, I was reasonably sure we wouldn’t have been able to pull this off. There was an ease in touching her now, even if my mind would turn over the details later when I inevitably couldn’t sleep.

“So let me get this straight,” Greer said. “You’re Emmett’s parents, but you also raised Logan’s sisters? And Anya’s stepmom is one of those sisters?”

Paige and Logan traded a quick, warm look. “Yes,” Paige answered. “Logan had custody of the four girls before we got married. They were all in their teen years when I entered the picture. By the time Isabel married Anya’s dad, Logan and I had been married maybe … eleven years? Twelve? Right around there. I can’t math in my old age.”

Anya gave me a quick smile. “Everyone on Isabel’s side of the family felt larger than life. My dad’s siblings are awesome too. I love the Hennessy side of my family, but … the Wards were different. As a little kid, it felt like being adopted by a bunch of superheroes.”

Paige reached across the table and laid her hand over Anya’s. “I’ll never forget the day we met you for the first time.”

Anya wrinkled her nose. “When I had Isabel falling out of a tree?”

Paige laughed, and even Logan conceded a tiny smile. “Yeah, that.”

“Committing acts of violence at a young age, were you?” I asked with a grin.

Anya rolled her eyes. “No. It was an accident. I climbed into a tree way too high, and Isabel had to help me down. The branch holding us snapped, and she turned to take the brunt of the fall. She sprained her wrist and hit her head. Thankfully, I outgrew that daredevil streak.”

“Now you just get married in Vegas for fun,” Logan said evenly. “To someone we don’t know.”

It didn’t feel prudent to point out that I’d met him no less than three times before this dinner, and I was a groomsman in his son’s wedding.

“Oh please,” Paige scoffed. “Quit trying to scare the boy. We’ve met Parker plenty of times, and you liked him. Wanted to get him to play for Washington if I remember correctly.”

“He did,” Anya interjected, leaning closer to me like everyone at the table couldn’t hear her talk. “Called Allie and said, I quote, I think you should pay whatever you can to get that kid on our sidelines, he’s fucking incredible.”

I couldn’t help but grin. Logan’s eyes narrowed, and I rolled my lips together.

Logan cut his wife a look. “That was before.”

“Before me?” Anya asked.

Logan nodded. “You’ve had a rough year, kid.”

Anya set her hand on my thigh under the table and squeezed. “We’ve both had a rough year.”

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