Page 64 of The Hang Up

He brushed his hands on his sleeves as if there was something on them. “Normally, I would say you were correct. It really is none of my business. However, the part that is my business”—he glanced up at me—“is the part where you’re fucking everything up.”

“Mitch,” I said, rubbing my brow, “can we not do this?”

He ignored me. “Brock is the best thing that has ever happened to you. Obviously, I’m not talking about your kids. And we both know Victoria was a bitch…” He whispered that last part. “You need to fix this. Because otherwise, you will be miserable. If you’re miserable, then I’m miserable. In case you didn’t catch it, this is the part that makes it my business.” He poked me in the chest. “Fix it.” And then he was gone.

Before I could find Brock, I was cornered by Matthew and Roan. “We want to play some games.”

I had no interest in games or anything other than fixing things with Brock. “I don’t have any games.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Roan flashed a smile, and for a moment, he reminded me of Ben. “We brought our own.”

“It was Ben’s suggestion.”

“And Sean’s okay with this?”

“I guess we’ll see.”

And then Brock was there apologizing and looking sweet. Sexy. Bratty. And I was so relieved that I wanted to take him to my room and show him how grateful I was for him. I felt like we were good.

Not fixed. Not really. And I needed to do that. Because I couldn’t lose Brock.

But we still had a house full of people and a bunch of guys who wanted to play games. I wasn’t even sure what games they were talking about. I was used to poker. Texas Hold'em. I had no idea what to expect.

Sean took over, and I stood close to Brock, relieved not to be in charge.

“So this is how it’s going to go. We have teams. Matthew and Roan. Nev and Missy. Ben and I. Regina, are you going to play?” She shook her head. “Mitch?”

He leaned back against Todd. “No, we’re good. We’ll just watch. Maybe next round.” Then he giggled as Todd kissed his neck. I wasn’t sure they would even make it to the next round.

Sean glanced around the room. Cassandra had already gone home. Or, more likely, back to work. “That just leaves Dad and Brock. Are you two okay with being partners?”

I raised a brow at Brock, not wanting to make the decision for him. He nodded, but his cheeks were red. “Sure. We’re in.”

“Okay, we’re playingTaboo. The object of the game is to get your partner to say the word on the card without using the forbidden words. We’ll have two rounds so each person can be the giver and the receiver.”

“I can’t believe you said that with a straight face,” Nevaeh said, and then got shushed by her wife.

“Hold on, isn’tTabooplayed with only two teams?” I asked, curious.

“These are Sean’s rules,” Brock said. “He likes to make up his own.”

“Not true. It’s just more fun this way.”

“I want it pointed out for the record that rules are rules, and changing them—”

A chorus of “Sit down, Ben” went through the room. Sean explained the other things you couldn’t do, and we were ready to start.

Matthew and Roan went first. It had been a while since I’d played this game. We really hadn’t played games with the kids. Sports? Yes. Board games? No.

Matthew and Roan did well, getting seventeen out of twenty correct. They grinned at each other.

Missy and Nevaeh were next. They got one after the other right but got tripped up on the worddanger. Missy motioned for her to skip to the next one, but Nevaeh seemed to be the stubborn type. They got sixteen.

“I wouldn’t want to be Nev tonight,” Brock said with a giggle.

I wanted to pull him forward and wrap my arms around him. Touch him. Kiss him. Everyone else here got to do that.

Ben and Sean were next. Sean was the clue giver, so Ben was facing us, staring at Sean intently. He’d told me he was competitive, and I could see that on his face.

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