Page 81 of Divorced from Number Thirty-Eight
Annoying fucker to be so charming.
But he’s a good guy to have on my side.
“Are you going to kill him?” Leo says lightly. “Or am I?”
I slide my gaze to my teammate. “Actually, I was kind of thinking I’m glad he’s using his powers for good.”
Leo lifts his brows as he studies the group. Then shrugs, mouth twitching as he snags some food off the platter near us. “Okay, so you’re not wrong.”
“Wrong about what?” Smitty asks expectantly, slinging a heavy arm over my shoulders and sending me staggering back a step.
“Never mind,” I tell Leo.
He nods. “Probably for the best we keep that one to ourselves.”
“Keep what to yourselves?” Smitty grumbles.
Leo grins then drifts off to the table with drinks, snagging a beer from the big metal bin there.
But I don’t miss that his eyes slide to the side, to the attractive caterer Aiden’s parents—okay, really his mom, Kathy—hired for the event. Luna wanted to have her baby shower here at the family house she inherited, and Kathy and Matt made that happen.
The house is full.
The Grizzlies are represented with me, Smitty, Ryan, Leo, Sawyer—even a few of the younger guys popped by with presents before moving on to greener pastures (read: getting ready to hit the area’s bars and nightclubs rather than hanging with a bunch of old dudes playing baby-themed games). Aiden’s siblings—Carrie, Ralph, and Dave are here. Luna’s brother and dad are not (but that’s for good reason—they’re assholes), though Jean-Michel Dubois, his wife, Tiffany, and his friend Jace Henderson and his woman, Marie, have come.
The billionaire businessman and a bunch of hockey players plus co-workers from the shelter that Luna works at may not seem like the most obvious pairing, but Jean-Michel and Jace have gone to bat for Luns more than once.
So fancy suits and high-rise buildings or not, I respect the two men immensely.
And between the billionaire and the Grizzlies and her friends and co-workers, we’ve got Luna covered.
Especially because some of the kids who she’s looked after showed—some for quick pop-ins, a couple to set up the cake, since they work with Bri at the bakery, and a handful to shyly hang around, make conversation, play games, and search for a slice of belonging they don’t often get.
So yeah, Luna’s family house is perfect for events like this one.
It’s why we all end up gathering here more often than not.
Sure, we all take turns hosting so it’s not a burden, but…Luna and Aiden’s place is the shit. Big, lots of room to hang out, and not so fancy that you worry about spilling your beer on the white carpet or whatever.
And it’s filled with memories of Luna’s grandma.
Something I hope she’ll share with Faye.
Maybe they can lean on each other to make the loss seem less intense, the hole they both have a little smaller.
I watch Faye snag a canapé and nibble as she continues talking and laughing with the girls and I want to freeze the moment in time, remember that I’m the one who’s given it to her.
And that I might be responsible for it being snatched away.
“Food’s good,” Smitty says and I nod as I tear my eyes from Faye.
It’s good. Seriously good—and not just because fancy catering isn’t usually on the docket when we hang out. Typically, we’re ordering pizza or Chinese or Indian or firing the barbecue up in the back yard. So, I haven’t seen the blond girl-next-door with the striking hazel eyes who put together the platters—full of those canapés—before. The woman who’s currently cooking up her next delicious confection in the kitchen with confident assurance.
And I’ve certainly never seen Leo look like that.
As though he can’t take his eyes off the woman, as though he’s looking for any and all excuses to hang near the kitchen, to hang near her.
Fuck, maybe Smitty’s matchmaking nonsense is starting to corrupt me.
