Page 112 of Sacrifice the Knight (Checkmate 6)

“Katrina…” Eric practically chokes on his tongue as he looks her up and down. “Wow. You look beautiful.”

“I told you,” Ben whispers as he passes. “I warned you, motherfucker. I told you setting her up wouldn’t end well for you.”

“But she’s smiling.” I stand a few feet away and smile while Mom fluffs her skirt. Shefeelsbeautiful; sheisbeautiful, and it’s all because Eric treats her like a queen. “It was totally worth it. I wouldn’t give her to just any dude. But Cap is good for her.” I keep his secrets to myself because, though Ben might be my best friend, Eric deserves to tell his story in his own time. “He earned this.”

“I still think you’re a sucker. They’re gonna get married now; you know that, right?”

The new couple pay us no attention as they whisper and giggle at the door. She’s never had this; not once in my whole life has a guy come to the door in a suit or made her fluff her skirt and blush.

I follow Benny back to the couch and grunt when I sit down. “They might get married,” I whisper. “As long as she’s smiling like that when she saysI do, then I made the right move. I don’t regret this.”

“And what if they make babies?” he prompts. “She’s still young. I mean, he’s old as fuck, but she’s young, and maybe she’ll have more babies.”

I shrug and watch her step away from the door. “I kinda hope she does. She deserves it. She deserves a redo. She deserves to experience it with a good man, where she can share the wake ups and diapers and shit. She literally doesn’t know how to share the load, and I feel like he’d make her.”

“You’re fuckin’ sick,” Benny grunts under his breath.

“Alright, boys.” Mom stops in front of us and drops her hands to her hips. “Are we good?”

“We’re good, Mom. No one in, no one out. We’re gonna watch TV, and that’s it. I promise. I’m seriously beat, so I’ll be in bed soon. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“We’re going to Pinocchio’s. You’re wearing my it’s-not-a-panic-button panic-button watch. You have your phone. Spence is watching, and he’ll snitch hard, so don’t test the system. If you need me, call me. I won’t get mad. If you want me to come home, we’ll come home. We won’t get mad. If at any point this,” she points between her and the door, “makes you uncomfortable, tell me. I won’t get mad.”

“Go away, Mom.” I snatch up the remote and flip the TV to the movie channel. “Seriously, go away. You’re going to eat at a restaurant two miles from here. I think I’m gonna be okay. If you wanna text to check in, you can. I won’t get mad.” I mimic her tone and enjoy the way her lips thin. “If you miss me, call me. I won’t get mad. But please, try and enjoy this. Tomorrow, you’ll be back in the diner, and your Cinderella night will be over. Enjoy it.”

“I love you, baby.” She steps forward and brushes hair back off my face. Dropping a kiss on my forehead, she whispers it again, “I love you so much.”

Stepping back, she does the same to Benny. She brushes his hair back and presses red lips to his forehead, leaving a mark behind. “Be good, Benny. Don’t make me smack you.”

“You be good, Miss Blair. Don’t make me give you the talk.”

Eric waits by the door with a satisfied smile and offers his arm when Mom heads in his direction. For the first time in my life, a man picks her up at the door; he wears something smart and fancy, and he doesn’t swear or talk to her like shit. For the first time in my life, she walks to a man with a smile.

“Totally worth it.” As soon as the door closes and the locks audibly snick into place, I kick my shoes off and plop my feet on our new coffee table. Meg’s man is a woodworker by trade, and the moment they found out Zeke was a prick, Marc started building something fancy for us.

Toss the prick onto this one,he whispered when he delivered it.It’ll hold up, and then you can pound on him some more without having to bend your back so much.

It takes literally minutes after Mom and Eric leave for my phone to ding in my lap.

Mom:everything okay?

Laughing, I start typing while Benny flicks channels and slows on the music channel while Tori Kelly sings of love.

I smack his leg. “Her hair is nice, huh?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Snorting, I finish replying to Mom:Yes. Nobody got arrested yet.

Mom:Har-freakin-har. Be good, baby. I’m begging you.

Eric:I trust you. Without condition, without doubt. I’ll get her a glass of wine the second we get inside. I’ll try and help her relax.

Me:Nottoorelaxed, Cap! Don’t make me shoot you.

Because I called Benny on his shit, he keeps moving past the music channel and ends up with the UFC. And because I made a promise to my mom, that’s what we do. We don’t move our asses; we don’t even order take out. I chug water to fight my sinus headache, and we enter a comatose state while we stare at the TV and our faces turn slack, so when my cell dings again around nine, I lazily pick it up and prepare to talk Mom off the ledge.

It takes my switched-off brain a moment too long to process what I see.

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