Page 92 of Pumped

Owen shrugs. “I don’t really know them.”

Gratitude fills my heart at the shy smile Owen gives me and at how far we’ve come. There’s no way he would’ve invited the Mars guys six months ago. And certainly not as a surprise for me.

“Hi! I’m Ivy! You’re Uncle Ev’s friends!” Ivy draws our attention back to her and I tug Owen a little closer to me.

Gavin kneels down so he’s at her level. “Hey Ivy, I’m Gavin, and this is Beau.” He goes around introducing the guys and they each give her a high five.

Then Ivy spots the poorly disguised teddy bear. She gasps and her eyes turn as big as saucers. “Is that for me?”

“Sure is!” Logan sets it down in front of her.

Ivy tries to hug it, except she’s too small to get her arms all around. It tilts over, and Ivy goes tumbling down with it. Logan is horrified, scrambling to help her up. Ivy, on the other hand, is giggling her head off, like this is the most fun she’s ever had in her life.

“What do you say, Ivy?” Owen prompts.

“Thank you!” Ivy throws herself at Logan and he hugs her back with a look of awe on his face. I smile—that’s how I feel whenever I get an Ivy hug, that I can’t quite believe such a beautiful creature exists and that she likes me enough to grace me with a hug.

After Logan is Sawyer, then Gavin, then Beau. She works her way through the group, hugging all the guys and winning them over with nothing more than her charming smile. I can already tell that she’s just earned herself six more uncles to spoil her rotten.

“Hey Ivy! Come play in the bouncy castle with us!”

Ivy lights up at the mention of the bouncy castle, and she darts around all the adults to get to her friends, disappearing as abruptly as she arrived.

Owen winces. “Sorry about that. She’s a little over-excited today.”

“That’s okay, it’s her birthday,” Gavin replies.

“Yeah, she’s allowed to be excited on her birthday,” Beau adds.

“Thank you all for coming,” Owen says. “I’m Owen, Ivy’s other uncle.”

It dawns on me then. I’ve never formally introduced Owen to my friends. Not that he was ever interested before this.

“Oh, uh, sorry. I guess you guys haven’t actually met before.”

“Nope! Way to be a good host, Everest,” Sawyer teases good-naturedly and I flash him a discreet middle finger.

“I caught the introductions with Ivy.” Owen’s hand settles on the small of my back, all casual, like it’s no big deal.

The warmth of it, the gentle pressure, amplifies the gratitude already filling my heart. I shift my weight so my arm presses lightly against his shoulder. It’s subtle, could almost be accidental, like I didn’t notice he was so close. The hand on my back slides around to my waist and squeezes. Holy shit.

My heart goes wild as I suppress a shudder of pure glee. His hold is so possessive, so sure, like I am his and he’s staking his claim. In front of family, friends, and half of Ivy’s school. There’s no way anyone could look at us and not know immediately that we’re together, that we belong to each other.

The guys notice it too. Donnie and Christian exchange an amused look. Beau and Sawyer exchange a mischievous one. Gavin smiles at us endearingly. Only Logan’s a little clueless, his attention fixed on whatever’s happening on the other end of the backyard.

A shriek rings out through the air, a little louder than the rest. At first, it doesn’t really register—the kids have been screaming since the moment they arrived. But then I see the look on Logan’s face. He gasps audibly, his eyes go wide, and his jaw hangs open in shock.

It doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Logan gets surprised by a lot of things. He’s a bit of a delicate flower that way. But there’s something about the horror in his eyes that makes my stomach drop to my knees. This isn’t any old accident. This is bad.

We all turn toward the far end of the backyard, where the bouncy castle is set up. Already, adults have rushed in that direction, and the screaming kids all start crying. Someone must be hurt.

Please don’t let it be Ivy. Please don’t let it be Ivy.

Owen and I move at the same time. I lead the way, using my bigger frame to shove people out of the way. I don’t care if they go flying. I don’t care if I trample over some child. I need to get to the front and make sure it isn’t Ivy who’s hurt.

It’s hard to tell what’s going on when we get up there. Adults stand in a ring, their children clinging to their legs. Then a smaller ring of adults are crouched down and hovering over someone lying on the ground.

I see pink frilly fabric and my heart stops.NO.

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