Page 58 of Sacrifice the Knight (Checkmate 6)

16

Eric

Gemma and I sit in the dark while I press my hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. The only thing we hear are footsteps on the floorboards, searching hums, and Gem’s heavy breathing as we await our doom.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

Gem’s eyes widen with panic, her heart slams against mine, and her hands turn fidgety.

“I’m coming to find you! Areeeee you under the bed?” The sounds of our covers whipping up make Gem twitch in my lap. “No. Hmm…” More footsteps. “Areeeeee you behind the door?” The door slams against the closet we hide in.

Twitching in my lap, Gem pries my hand from her mouth and shows off a magnificent smile. “We’re almost found.”

“Shh.” I rest a finger over my lips, then lean forward and replace my finger with her lips. Cupping her face and sliding my tongue in, I groan as the closet door swings wide and light from our bedroom floods our small space.

“Daddy! How dare?”

Busted, I turn and flash my most innocent grin. “What?” I grab Callie around the waist when she stands over us with attitude. Tugging her in amid silly screams and floating hair just like her mom’s, I pepper kisses all over her chubby cheeks. “You found us, baby.”

“You were kissing Mommy!” My four-year-old grunts and giggles in the same breath, tries to fight me off, but snuggles closer, lest her mommy take her place. “You were supposed to be hiding!”

“We were hiding, Cal. And you did such a good job of finding us.”

“No more kissing Mommy!”

“I’m always gonna kiss Mommy.” I tug my wife forward so we create an A-frame over our thrashing daughter, and with the smile only a man who knows happiness can give, seal our lips together.

“Daddy! How dare?”

* * *

Just as Katrinapredicted last night, Mac turns up to the diner the next morning with the biggest head known to man, an arrogant swagger, and a broad chest. His friends follow him in, which means he doesn’t try to sit with me.

I’m okay when there’s no other choice or when he needs help with his homework, but when his friends are near, there’s no way the champion fighter is going to sit with anold man. Katrina rolls her eyes when Mac retells his story for the billionth time, swats the back of his head as she delivers plates of food the kids didn’t order, and laughs when the arrogant Evie Kincaid shuts Mac down with a challenge to fight.

“I know your weaknesses, Macallistar.” The curly-haired teen sits in the booth so her back is to mine and her wild hair tickles my arm. The kids eat bacon strips and pancakes with large dollops of whipped cream. They chatter about fights they’ve won in the past and fights they intend to win later on.

It’s like a glimpse into the future. Like I’ve switched the channel on a TV, so now I see the group of six, Evie, Bean, and their cousin Bryan squished in one side. And Mac, Benny, and Benny’s little sister, Livi, sitting opposite. They laugh and toss food; they heckle each other and declare a war of sorts that they’ll settle in the octagon after school, and when they’re done, not one of them leaves a mess for Katrina to clean up. They bus their own table, clean up spilled water, wipe down the bench seat, spray and wipe the table clean, and as a parade, don their schoolbags and accept juicy kisses from Katrina on their way out the door.

Katrina stands by the now empty table and wrings a towel between her hands. “Make good choices, guys.”

“You know us, Miss Katrina.” Evie stops at the door with a smug grin. “We always make good choices.”

Katrina lifts a skeptical brow. “Yes, I do know you, Evelyn, which is why I’m urged to remind you not to be dumb.”

I chuckle in my seat and watch the crew file out the door. Mac is the last through, and even with his limp more pronounced today than it was this time yesterday, he turns back and smiles. “I love you, Mom. Have a good day.”

“You too, babe. Go learn stuff.”

The kitchen staff dings their bell as the door closes, and like on a timer, my stomach jumps up to attention, since I know it’s for me. Collecting the plate and a roll of cutlery, Katrina moves across the diner in an unintentional sashay, a seduction where the succubus in her eyes makes promises that include forever.

Sliding the plate of bacon and eggs in front of me despite the fact I ordered a burger, Katrina smiles and slides onto the bench opposite me for the first time ever. Starving one second, nervous the next, I sit taller and unwrap my utensils while this woman, this fighter pulls the scarf from her hair and lets it hang free for a moment. It’s still only eight in the morning, but we didn’t hang up until after three, and she’s been here long enough that her lipstick needs a touch-up. Too long. She pulls her legs up so she sits cross-legged, smooths her hair back, and watches me with a shy smile. “Morning.”

I was with Gemma since junior year in high school. She was in my grade, and because we were both nerds with near perfect grades, we earned certain rewards in classes – like the ability to sit together. Not only were we not a distraction for each other, but we helped the other. Where Gemma needed help in math, I excelled and helped, and though I struggled in science, she made up for it and made us both stronger. We were, according to everyone who knew us, perfect for each other. And because it felt so easy, I never had a chance to become nervous around her.

But now here I sit in a diner with a greasy breakfast, three hours sleep, the woman I’m starting to get way too invested in, and her smile makes me nervous as hell.

“Hey.” I fidget with my knife and fork. “You look real pretty today.”

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