Page 83 of Encore

Zayn shakes his head, eyes smiling. “Yeah, yeah.”

“Ah, fuc–feckinghell,” Beast groans.

“What?” Xeno asks, following Beast’s line of sight.

“Two of my worst nightmares have just arrived,” he grumbles, just as Grim finishes her call to Christy and we all turn towards the direction he’s looking.

Approaching us from the other side of the park are Asia and her partners: Camden, Sonny, Eastern and Ford, as well as Asia’s younger brother, Sebastian and George. It’s Sebastian and George who are currently Beast’s worst nightmare. Which is completely unfair, they’re good kids who Iris happens to be completely enamoured with. I guess that’s the point.

“Beast, they’re family! Stop being so protective,” Grim warns, rolling her eyes.

“Georgie! Sebby!” Iris squeals, jumping to her feet and dropping her half eaten burger as soon as she notices Sebastian and George. They’re both tweens but clearly Iris doesn’t care about the age difference given the way she happily takes their hands, grinning.

“They’re a bad influence,” Beast mutters.

“Oh for shit’s sake, stop being so ridiculous. They’rechildren.”

Lorcan snorts. “And children grow up to be adults.”

“My point exactly!” Beast agrees, throwing Grim a,I told you so,look.

“Donotencourage him,” Grim warns, getting to her feet. "He's being completely irrational."

“Hey everyone,” Asia says as we all exchange pleasantries and she and her guys sit with us.

“Where’s Christy and The Masks?” Camden asks, throwing a welcoming nod to us all, and Grim and her half-brother Ford exchange hugs.

"They're going to catch up with us all at the Twisted Bullet this weekend. Christy's feeling a little... under the weather," Grim explains, throwing me a look. "She thinks she might've picked up Pen's bug."

Cynthia and I exchange looks, and I smother a smile.

“Which is basically code forwe're too busy shagging to hang out,” Ford says, winking at his half-sister Grim when she throws a sandwich at his head.

We all burst into laughter, eagerly digging into the food, and as we all fall into conversations, I lean back against Dax's chest, content to soak up the atmosphere and listen to the music from the radio playing in the background. As the afternoon wears on and Sebastian and George entertain Iris and Faith, the conversation turns to more interesting topics. Grim, Ford, and Cynthia's men are arguing over who they think is the best boxer of all time. My guys are talking to Asia and Camden about commissioning an art piece for Chastity nightclub whilst Cynthia is deep in conversation with Eastern and Sonny about the benefits of herbal medicine. Meanwhile, Beast is keeping a watchful eye on Sebastian and George as they play with Faith and Iris.

It's only when the sun starts to dip beyond the line of trees, the sky turning a dusky pink and deep orange that we all start thinking about heading home.

"Time for bed, I think," Beast says, picking up a sleepy Iris and settling her in his lap.

"I'm not tired!" Iris complains, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"But youdolook pretty tired," Sebastian comments, his dark brown eyes warming with a sweet smile as he looks at her. "Maybe you should listen to your dad, eh? He knows best."

Beast's brows raise and Grim chuckles. "See, agoodinfluence," she whispers, pressing a kiss against Sebastian's cheek, who flushes a deep red at the attention.

Beside him George rolls his eyes. “What a suck-up,” he mutters, earning him a dig to the ribs from Sebastian. They start squabbling, and Eastern rises to his feet, glaring at them both.

“Over here, now,” he says sternly, taking them to one side whilst he reminds them how he expects them to behave around friends and family.

"Well, I guess we should be heading back to Connall's too," Cynthia says, her arms wrapping around Faith, who is also sleepy and sun-kissed from her afternoon playing in the park. "We’ve enjoyed ourselves. Thank you for inviting us."

"Short of sounding sappy as fuck,” Beast says with a rueful smile, “I think I can safely say we’ve all enjoyed today too. You're good people. I mean that."

A murmur of agreement goes around the group, and as we start slowly packing up a familiar song begins to play on the radio. Arden catches my eye, the same strange look on his face he had the night Xeno, York and I danced for him in a private performance at Tales nightclub. Back then we weren't friends, and were coerced into doing it in exchange for information. Today, things are very different. Funny how time, perspective, and mutual affection for the same group of people can change things.

He gives me a knowing smile then says, "Don't think I ever told you how beautiful you were dancing together. It was quite a performance."

“I hope you aren’t flirting with my missus,” York jokes.

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