Page 5 of Unexpectedly Falling
“Stop hogging him, man!” Mason says, elbowing Montana out of the way and wrapping me in an equally crushing bear hug. “My poster was better, right?”
“I’m not even gonna touch that.”
“No way, dude. Mine was better—I put glitter on it and everything,” Montana argues, and all I can do is watch as the two of them face off.
It’s hilarious and exactly what I need.
But also…
“Where did you get glitter from?” I ask as Archer shakes with silent laughter from beside me.
“Ellison brought some home from school.”
“You had help! That’s cheating.” Mason huffs with a dramatic stomp of his foot, his lips barely holding back a smile.
And it takes less than ten seconds before everyone laughs, Mason and Montana holding each other up as they dissolve into giggles while Bodhi hands me a water.
I needed this and I needed them, and I’m thankful that my daughter will have each of these guys at her back through all the ups and downs.
But also, I could use a beer.
Sliding my glance to the beer in Bodhi’s hand, I then meet his gaze. He shakes his head, and the ghost of a smile passes over his lips.
“I’m drinking yours; tomorrow’s game day.”
Game day, indeed.
3
NESSA
“So, you’re gonna live in college housing instead of with the sexy sheriff?” Kinsley asks, flopping down on my bed and being absolutely no help as I pack another bag filled with some version of athletic wear. “Also, would it kill you to pack a dress?”
“What? Of course I’m not staying with him. Are you crazy? And no to the dress. It’s November.”
“But he’d be right down the hall. You could totally sneak in and out between baby duties and besides”—she pauses, dramatically throwing her arm over her eyes—“single dads are so hot. I bet Jensen Kade would like you in a dress.”
Balling up a T-shirt, I throw it at her face and laugh as she sits up with a giggle.
The worst part is, she’s not wrong.
Jensen Kade is sex on a stick and completely off-limits for a number of reasons—most notably because he’s so damnnice.At least according to everything I was able to dig up on one of Blackstone Falls’s most eligible bachelors.
But he’s not for me.
The good ones never are.
Sure, there’s a couple of nice ones sprinkled into the professional athlete pool, but they’re few and far between, and I make it a point to steer clear of them.
They want relationships and commitment, and while I’d love to be the maiden in that particular fairy tale, it’s just not in the cards for me.
And it hasn’t been for a long time.
Jensen Kade seems like husband material, and even if he hasn’t settled downyet, he’ll probably be snatched up before I even make it to Blackstone Falls. The thought makes me laugh and I snort as Kinsley’s eyes widen.
“What was that for? Also, you’re making the face again,” she says as she studies me a little closer than I would like.
“What face? I’m not making a face.”
