“That seems like overkill,” Kristen murmured, beyond excited that she was finally going to her first Bradford family event. For years, she’d watched them from her window and during those times when she decided to take advantage of their obsession with food by throwing together a bake sale in front of her house to fund her notebook-buying needs.
She’d watched them, making notes for her books, and always found herself wondering when the bitch-slapping would begin. She-
“Remember, I love you,” Garrett said, making her lips twitch.
“I still remember when you told me five minutes ago,” Kristen said as they made their way towards the path that cut through the woods that would take them to his cousin Reed’s house.
“It’s important that you remember that, no matter what happens today,” Garrett said, swallowing hard as he looked at her and-
“For God’s sake, just remember that I love you,” he said, making her even more curious about what she was about see.
“I will do my best to remember that,” Kristen said, nodding solemnly as they made their way onto the path and-
“Shit!”
-found herself suddenly holding the platter of baked goods as Garrett glared down at his phone when a small chime suddenly filled the air. She watched his expression go from annoyed to stunned, and then finally, resigned as he released a heavy sigh and gestured back towards his house.
“I have to take this,” Garrett said as she noted the way that his gaze shifted from her to his cousin’s house and knew that he was contemplating taking her with him.
“I’ll be fine,” she promised him. “I’ll follow all the rules, even the ones that I am pretty sure the voices in your head came up with.”
“Are you sure? I normally wouldn’t do this but my client just caught her husband in bed with the pool boy and I really need to take this before-.”
“Wait. Pool boy?” Kristen said, the writer in her immediately intrigued. “I wanna hear about the pool boy,” she said, making him chuckle like she was joking.
She wasn’t.
Not even a little bit, in fact, she was pretty sure that she could find a way to use this in one of her books, she just needed a few more details, Kristen decided as she moved to go with him only to have Garrett lean down and brush his lips against hers. “I’ll be right back,” he said, and with that, she was left standing there, grumbling as she was torn between her need to see bitch-slapping and learning just how naughty the pool boy was.
In the end, her need to see bitch-slapping had her turning around and reluctantly making her way through the woods and onto the edge of a large backyard, where she found herself frowning as she took in the sight before her.
She’d honestly never seen anything like it before.
There were at least two dozen grills to her right, more than two dozen coolers lined up next to them, and ten long tableslining the clearing and every last inch was covered in food. It was enough food to feed an army, Kristen thought as she took in the large men in front of her, noting their dark hair, chiseled good looks, large muscular builds, and-
“Those were my brownies, you bastard!”
-was pulled out of the way as two large men, determined to put each other in headlocks, stumbled past her.
“Did you figure out what you’re going to do with his body yet?” came the softly murmured question that drew her attention to find Garrett’s father standing next to her.
“I want to keep my options open depending on which plan I decide to go with,” Kristen admitted, watching as the men fell to the ground and the bitch-slapping began.
“How many plans did you manage to come up with?” Dr. Bradford asked, not really sounding all that concerned that they were discussing her plans for getting rid of his son’s body.
“Two-hundred and ninety-seven,” Kristen admitted as she found herself watching Garrett’s older brother, Lucifer, take in the last table and shook his head with a muttered, “This just isn’t going to work for me.”
“You’ve given this a lot of thought,” Dr. Bradford said, placing his hand at the small of her back and led her towards the tables as she watched Lucifer lean over and-
“Is…is he putting the condiments in alphabetical order?” Kristen asked, unable to help but frown as she watched Lucifer shake his head in disgust as he began rearranging the condiments.
“Probably,” Dr. Bradford said, plucking the platter of baked goods out of her hands and placed it on the table before he grabbed a plastic plate and began filling it with food. “Any idea where my son is?”
“Something about a pool boy being extra naughty,” Kristen murmured absently as she found herself glancing over her shoulder in time to watch Lucifer shift his focus to the toppings.
“Don’t let him off too easily,” Dr. Bradford said, making her frown as she glanced back at him only to find him shoving the plate overflowing with food and an ice-cold Coke in her hands before she suddenly found herself turned around and-
“So fucking adorable,” he murmured as he gave her a gentle push towards the tables, benches, and chairs set up by the pool.
