“Let me guess. Sadie?” Jace asked.
Eastern turned the phone around to show a photo of Sadie and his daughter, Avery, kneading dough, chocolate on Avery’s cheeks. “I better get home before Avery’s full of sugar.”
Kayden frowned. “It’s not cooked yet.”
“That’s never stopped them.”
Kayden laughed. “I should get back to Tilly too.”
They rose from the deck chairs and walked through the house to the front door.
“Thanks for having us over,” Kayden said, scanning the wooden staircase behind him, then the living room to the right. “Every time I step foot in here, I feel them—Mom and Dad.”
Jace felt them too. It was both a comfort and a reminder of how much he’d lost.
After a goodbye to his brothers, he closed the door and moved to his bedroom. He was about to jump in the shower when he noticed a message on his phone.
Elle: I never dated Jace because he was too tall. His dimples were too distracting. And he had far too many ab packs. But now that he’s home, he might just be able to tempt me into a long night of hot shower sex.
Jace’s lips stretched into a grin. There wasno wayElle wrote this. No way in hell. Her Aunt Jewel, though? Yeah, this could definitely be her. But he’d play along.
Jace: Just one night?
The three dots immediately popped up, then her text.
Elle: I didn’t write that.
Jace: And if you could break down exactly how I should tempt you, that would be great. Chocolates? Flowers? Allowing you access to my ab packs?
Elle: Ab packs are not a thing.
Jace: Your text suggests otherwise.
Elle: I told you, I didn’t write that. I’m going to dig my head into a hole and die now.
Jace: If you do that, you’ll never know what gift I got to tempt you.
Elle: You don’t have a gift for me.
Jace: I do. I would never joke about a gift, especially not one this good.
Elle: Why would you buy me a gift?
Jace: Because I’m a nice guy with a great many ab packs.
Elle: Stop saying ab packs.
Jace: Can we go back to the shower sex then?
Elle: No.
Jace: Doesn’t give us much to talk about, Tink. What about my height? I didn’t realize it was an issue. I could hunch?
Elle: I’m going to stop texting now.
Jace: Fine, but can I say one more thing before you go?
Elle: What?
