Aelin nodded. Bailey's shoulders drooped as she slipped off her sandals and trudged into the living room. "I wanted s'mores."
"Yeah." Aelin sighed. "You never know. Maybe the storm will blow through. Why don't you girls go get cleaned up?"
"I don't want to shower. I'm just going to get smoky."
That was a fair point. "Okay, just don't get water on your beds."
Bailey grinned, and the girls ran up the stairs. Aelin waited by the window for a moment, then put on her sandals and stepped out into the wind.
Chapter
Twenty
The storm moved in fast.One moment, the lake was a placid mirror reflecting the grey sky, and the next, it was whipped into a frenzy. The temperature dropped, and a chill crawled up Ryan's spine as he grabbed one corner of the cover from Aelin's dad.
Aelin sprinted toward the water, her ponytail swishing. "I'll get the paddleboards!" she yelled to Mariah, already halfway there.
Lightning flashed over the lake followed by a crack of thunder, and the first drops of rain started to fall, fat and heavy. Ryan glanced at Aelin, their eyes meeting for a heartbeat as she dragged the boards up onto the beach. She wore her shorts, but no shirt over her bikini top. He thought about her hand resting on his. The way her skin had prickled under the water. What was he doing?
He knew exactly what he wanted to do. Something about being away from home made the ground feel less stable under his feet. He'd been so sure he could never be with anyone but Kara. That he couldn't move on while she was still stuck in that place. But did Fun Ryan feel the same way?
By the time they had everything stowed away, the rain wascoming down in earnest. They said hurried goodbyes and retreated to their respective cabins.
"That was intense." Aelin panted.
"I don't remember the last time I saw a storm like this." Ryan kicked off his sandals and went to the window, crouching so he could see past the porch overhang. Thunder shook the walls.
"Mom?" Bailey's voice wafted down from the loft.
"Hey, we're here." Aelin turned, scanning the floor for something. "Do you girls want to watch a movie or play a game?"
The girls didn't answer right away. "Both. Game first, then movie."
"Sounds perfect." Aelin grabbed the towels puddled on the floor and took them into the bedroom.
The girls settled in at the table. Ryan grabbed the bag of Sour Patch Kids, and Aelin nodded approvingly.
She pulled a few options from the bag. "Crazy Eights or Go Fish?"
They played multiple rounds of both while the rain hammered on the roof. Amaya was fiercely competitive, her brow furrowing as she analyzed her cards. Bailey was all about the rules, making sure everyone followed them to the letter. He chuckled every time she started a sentence with, "Wait . . . "
After round four of Crazy Eights, he glanced up at the clock. "Dinner?" The girls nodded. "Why don't you two go start your movie and we'll whip something up." He pushed his chair back and headed to the kitchen.
"I can do that." Aelin stood.
Ryan shook his head. "No. Go shower. I've got this."
Aelin watched him a moment, then nodded. She disappeared into the bedroom, and he stood in front of the open fridge for a moment, unsure why he'd opened it in the first place.Chicken. Pasta sauce.
Ryan forced the idea of Aelin pulling off her bikini top behind the door out of his head and opened the package ofchicken breasts.Nice.André would've taken advantage of that one.
He'd barely responded to the team chat since they'd been there. He didn't want to disappear onto his phone, but when he started getting individual messages from his teammates, he decided he at least needed to let them know he was alive.
Ryan cut the chicken, coated a pan with olive oil, then started it cooking. He boiled water and grabbed the salt from the cupboard. He pulled the package of noodles from the top shelf and opened them. As soon as the chicken was white around the edges, he flipped them with a spatula and put the lid on the pan just to make sure they cooked through. The whole dinner was prepped and ready in under fifteen minutes, so he decided to chop up some cucumbers and peppers since nobody had returned to the kitchen. Not that he was trying to impress anybody.
He had plates and cups neatly stacked on the counter, along with forks and napkins, by the time Aelin re-emerged from the bedroom. Her hair was wet and combed, and she wore a cozy sweater and joggers that were so thin, they left nothing to the imagination.
He called to the girls and had them pause their movie, then dished up and sat at the table to eat. Bailey found a candle and matches in one of the drawers and insisted they have mood lighting. The sky was still dark outside, the rain still coming down in buckets.
