Page 52 of Beautifully Broken Redemption

“A slug day?”

“That’s what Juliette and I used to call them. If either of us had an especially rough week, we’d pick a day and do nothing but watch movies and eat way too much junk food. It always helped.”

Anna shifted in her seat. “I guess a slug day wouldn’t be all that bad.Ifyou ask nicely.”

“Please, Queen Anna, will you be a slug for a day? I promise to only feed you things with zero nutritional value and watch movies that make you laugh.”

“I could suffer through it…”

I shook my head and kept driving. I kept the conversation light, focusing on Anna’s favorite movies and candy. It made the trip pass in a flash. I hadn’t realized that we’d never had any normal get-to-know-you conversations. But they would happen more and more now that we were living together.

I made a quick stop at a burger place on the edge of town, telling Anna to wait in the car. I ordered enough burgers, fries, onion rings, and milkshakes to feed an army. Her eyes widened as I opened the back door and slid in the box of food.

“Are you secretly the Hulk and didn’t tell me?”

“Better too much than too little.”

She let out an adorable little snort. “That’s enough food to get us through the apocalypse.”

I climbed in and turned over the engine, pulling away from the curb. “Or an epic movie marathon.”

The drive through town was quick, and I hit the remote on my visor to open the gates. By the time we reached the house, Kennedy, Cain, Lyla, and Justin appeared on the front porch. I didn’t bother pulling into the garage, simply parked out front. I looked over at Anna. “You okay?”

“Nothing a cheeseburger or ten won’t fix.”

“That’s my girl.” The words spilled out without me giving much thought to them. They weren’t the truth, but I wanted them to be.

Lyla knocked on Anna’s window. “Why are you taking so long?”

Anna chuckled and pushed open her door. “I’m trying to figure out how Mason’s going to get all of that food in the house.”

Lyla peeked into the back and sniffed. “Burgers?”

“You know it,” I answered.

“Milkshakes?” Justin asked as he appeared behind his sister.

“Do I look like an idiot to you?”

He grinned. “You definitely do not.”

“I want strawberry,” Lyla called as she ran up the front steps.

I motioned for Anna to follow her. “I’ve got the food. You set up the couch and pick out a movie.”

“Slug day,” she mumbled and followed her niece and nephew.

I grabbed the food and met Cain on the steps. “Want to stay for food and a movie, or do you need to get back to the office?”

He patted his stomach. “It’s technically lunchtime, and I do own the company.”

“Perks.”

“Damn straight.” His expression sobered. “How’d it go?”

Anna’s tear-streaked face flashed in my mind. “They’re fighting dirty.” I suspected they would but seeing it firsthand was another thing altogether. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Name it.”

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