Page 174 of Between Regrets and Promises

“For always being there for me.” It was like watching that performance made something click deep inside my soul, and I’mstill trying to process it all. To find a love so great and then for death to rip it away in the blink of an eye feels a little too close to home, a little like reality.

Fans eventually bombard Maddie, so we give her space. We wait for her to make her way back to us.

“So I get a drink to celebrate tonight?” She perks up although she already knows the answer.

“No, but I did plan on kicking your ass at darts tonight. Gotta knock you down a few pegs,” Liam teases, but I notice the way his eyes soften as he speaks. Maybe Maddie finally kicked through his wall with her ballet shoes. I laugh to myself, and Mason notices.

“I don’t even want to know what you’re thinking.”

“You don’t,” I agree as we walk out to Mason’s truck.

Maddie and Liam sit in the back seat, and Maddie continues to talk shit about how she’s going to kick everyone’s ass at darts and how she deserves a drink because she’s worked so hard.

“Oh whatever,” I interrupt. “You made it look so freaking easy. Like you were making soup.”

“It’s because I’m so flexible.” She chuckles.

I glance over my shoulder and roll my eyes at her obvious

We pull up to the Coliseum, and Hunter and Lennon are waiting for us at the front. Maddie is on cloud nine, fluttering around because Liam is finally giving her more than five seconds of attention. Mason and I walk behind them, giving them distance.

“Do you see what I see?” He nods toward Liam and Maddie.

A grin fills my face. “He’s in trouble now. Give her an inch, and she’ll take ten miles.”

Mason chuckles. “Yep, although I have a feeling he’ll always think she’s too young for him.”

“Well, if we’re talking maturity years here, then they’re basically on the same level.” I snort.

“Eh, more like he’d be too young for her then. He wouldn’t even have his driver’s license,” Mason mocks, opening the door for me.

We sit at the table, then order drinks and food. After the guys have their beers, we all bombard Maddie. With a performance like that, it’s almost impossible not to. Of course, she’s so modest about her craft, and she blows it off like it’s no big deal. Maddie won’t always take the compliments about her dancing, but she’s polite and appeases us.

As she continues on about the underlying theme of the dance, Liam listens intently to her every word with bated breath. After we get our food and eat, we decide to go over to the game room area and play darts. We gave Maddie the choice since it’s her night.

Mason lazily hangs his arm on my shoulder as we stand off to the side and watch her and Liam battle, but it’s not without smack talk from either of them. Lennon walks over to me, and Hunter decides he wants to start in with the trash talking too. The three of them have me nearly bending over with tears from their comebacks, but it doesn’t surprise me that Maddie can hold her own. She had lots of practice growing up with Lennon and me as sisters.

Lennon gives me a smile, then yawns as she sits on a barstool.

“How are you doing, Mama?” I lean over and rub her belly.

“Tired, but good. This pregnancy is so much different than the last one,” she admits as I impatiently wait to feel a kick or something. She’s not due until March, but we find out next month what she’s having, which is so damn exciting.

“Is Hunter still dead set on it being a boy?” I ask, glancing over as he smacks Liam on the back.

“Yeah, and he might be right. For his sake, I hope he is, or he’s gonna have a house full of women, and he can barely handle two.” She snorts.

“And we all know how Dad turned out after us,” I admit. “But if you do have a girl, you can always try again for a little boy.” I waggle my brows, making my hint more than obvious.

Instantly, she starts shaking her head. “No, I think after this one, I’m done. If I survive being a mom of two toddlers, that is.” Hunter walks over and places a quick smack on Lennon’s lips and then gives Mason a high five.

“You’re all way too competitive for my taste.” I point at each of them.

Mason scoffs. “Says the girl who nearly had Liam naked the first time you came to the house.”

Lennon giggles, and we all remember the night of strip pool. It seems like a lifetime ago now. The guys walk to the bar for a refill, and Maddie comes over to us with rosy cheeks and a mile-wide smile.

Lennon shakes her head.

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