Page 62 of Beautiful Exile

Lolli beamed at him. “Interest without judgment. I knew I liked you.”

“I try,” Linc said, grinning at her.

“No mushrooms for me, but I do have twelve different strains of marijuana. I could set up a taste test for you?—”

“Lolli,” I cut her off, warning in my tone. “Let’s go inside.”

She sent a scowl in my direction. “I didn’t think you’d be the one to ruin my fun.” But she hauled open the door and headed into the house.

Linc dipped his head to whisper in my ear as we climbed the steps. “Buzzkill.”

I choked on a laugh but smacked his stomach with the back of my hand. “You wouldn’t be saying that if you accidentally got dosed. Happened to Rhodes in college, thanks to Lolli’s pot brownies. She ended up rolling around in a field of flowers and declaring she was meant to be a daisy, not a girl.”

Linc’s laughter was full-out this time, the kind I wanted to grab hold of and never let go. “I’ll keep that in mind. No brownies from Lolli.”

“Smart choice.”

As we headed inside, Brutus trotting along beside us, the sound of beautiful chaos rose. Conversations, and the shrieks of Keely’s laughter. As we stepped into the living room, all eyes were pinned on us. I hated the attention, but gritted my teeth, knowing it would pass.

A hand found the small of my back, strong and steady. The heat from Linc’s palm bled into me, letting me know he wasn’t going anywhere. And, God, I wanted to sink into that reassurance and let someone be strong for me for once.

“Auntie Arden,” Keely squealed, making a beeline for me. When she was a few steps away, she launched herself.

I caught her with anoomphand spun her in a circle. “Did you grow on me?”

She giggled. “I don’t think so. But Dad only measures me on my birthdays so we can put the mark on the wall.”

God, Trace was a good dad.

“I bet there’ll be a big jump this year.”

Her dark brown pigtails with big bows on the ends bobbed in a nod. “I’ll be able to go on so many more rides at the fair.” She glanced up at Linc curiously. “Are you my Auntie Arden’s boy toy?”

Kye let out a strangled sound and then started coughing as he straightened on the couch. Fallon leaned over and started patting his back. “Careful, wouldn’t want you to choke to death.”

Shep sent Lolli an amused look from where he and his girlfriend, Thea, sat curled in a massive, overstuffed chair. “You know Trace will kill you if she starts calling kidsboy toysin the first grade.”

Lolli shrugged. “It’s better than bleep buddy.”

Kye started coughing all over again.

Rhodes grinned at Lolli. “You’re going to off Kye if you’re not careful.”

She frowned at her grandson. “Never expected you to have such a delicate disposition.”

Keely’s gaze pinballed around the room. “What’s a bleep buddy?”

“Oh, Jesus,” Shep muttered. “Someone tell Trace I had nothing to do with this.”

I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. “It’s nothing, Keels. Now, tell me. Who did these beautiful braids for you?”

Trace had worked hard to master simple braids and a couple of other hairstyles, but nothing he did was this fancy. These were intricate. Something I had no idea how to do either. But Keely beamed up at me and cast her arm wide, pointing to the kitchen. “My new bestie, Ellie.”

Linc’s sister stood in the kitchen next to Nora, where it appeared she was chopping vegetables. She waved. “That’s me, bestieextraordinaire.” She gave Keely a wink. “Never pass up an excuse to make a girl feel like the queen she is.”

Keely giggled, then wiggled to be let down, making a beeline for her new friend. Something about it made my heart ache. My niece was the sweetest kid known to man and deserved someone who would give her those over-the-top braids whenever she wanted.

“So,” Kye said, kicking his scarred motorcycle boots up on the coffee table and glancing at me. “Try to kill Linc lately?”

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