Page 82 of Ruled Out

I look across at Luna, who stands at the entrance to her house, and her gaze is locked on me, the corner of her upper lip tipping up.

What?I mouth.

She doesn’t say anything; she simply winks at me in response.

“Okay, let’s not heat the street,” she announces, clapping her hands together. “Zach and Jon have spent all day in the kitchen, prepping food together, and the new knife set we recently bought has looked increasingly tempting to use the more timeI’ve spent around them. So, I need you all to head inside and rescue me from an impending custodial sentence.” Stepping aside, she motions through the door.

We find everyone else gathered around the white marble island set in the center of their grand kitchen.

“That’s not what I said, Zachary.” Jon huffs at his closest friend as they both peer over the counter with their backs to us. “Shortcrust pastry has to be rolled once chilled. You clearly rolled this at room temperature.”

Zach props his hands on his hips and motions to whatever they’re looking at. “Why the fuck would it make a difference?”

Jon drags a palm down his face. “Like I told you, it makes the pastry lighter in texture. This looks like you could anchor a fucking ship with it.”

Throwing his apron on the side, Zach points at Jon. “You always have to get smart.” He motions to what I can now see is a vegetable quiche. “Just take it out of its pastry casing, and you’ve essentially got a frittata. Boom.”

“Daddy can’t make those either. Can he, baby?” Luna plants a kiss on Aster’s forehead, who’s still in Mia’s arms.

Zach pins his fiancée with a glare and pulls out his phone. “I’m ordering pizza. You can have everything else we made alongside it.”

“I’ll eat the spider plant in the bathroom if I don’t get something soon,” Jensen announces, walking into the kitchen, June and Will balancing on each shoulder, an arm wrapped around each of them. “Mia, hi,” he says, stopping in his tracks.

“Mama,” June says, pointing at Mia.

I watch as Mia’s cheeks flush a cute pink.

“Oh, no, baby. I’m M-I-A. Not Mama.”

Bringing a glass of water to her lips, Luna smiles around the rim at me. I know what she’s thinking—babies.

“Pizza will be twenty minutes,” Zach announces, pocketing his phone and rejoining the conversation. When he scans the room, he clocks Mia, and his eyes flare wide. “Sorry, Mia. Got sidetracked by my jackass teammates.” He chuckles and crosses the kitchen, holding out a hand to greet her. “Zach Evans.”

As he takes Aster from her in one arm, Jon hugs Mia into his side with the other. “Welcome to the family. My wife has told me a lot about you.”

“That I have.” A British voice filters into the kitchen.

When Jon releases Mia, Zach stands awkwardly for a second, and in response, Mia holds out her arms to him, offering a hug too.

“Bring it in, Zachary.”

Throwing my head back, I burst out laughing, and when I finally refocus my attention on the group, I notice the way Kate observes me, a soft smile tracing her lips.

“Can we get you a drink? We have wines, cocktails, beers …” Kate asks Mia, pushing off the doorframe toward the fridge.

Mia pins her lip between her teeth, her eyes flashing to mine for a brief second. “I guess I could have a wine.”

I grab a soda from the side and unscrew the lid.

“You’re not driving home tonight, right?” Jon asks me, tipping his beer bottle in my direction.

I shake my head. “Nah, I’m just staying off alcohol for now.”

Zach’s hand lands on my shoulder as he looks over at Jon. “Found his form and trying to keep it.”

“I saw, like, three times.” Jon shakes his head at me in awe. “That game against my former team? You blew Colorado out of the water.”

“You watched the footage three times over?” Jensen asks, stepping forward into the conversation, June and Will still perched like parrots.

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