“Why were you hiding out here without us?” Jake asked, and I was surprised when he gave me a hug and didn’t move his arm from around my shoulders.
“Your nonna told me to eat.”
“Then you better.” He handed me a plate from a clean stack of large ceramic ones, then picked up a cracker slathered with some sort of paste and held it in front of me. I opened my mouth, and he popped the appetizer between my lips while my face went scalding hot. The food barely registered, though it was some sort of spicy something or other I thought might be hummus.
“Oh, try these,” Declan said, and I found myself being fed a toothpick-skewered ball of mystery meat that was savory and not bad at all. I nodded and made a positive noise in his direction.
“Who exactly are you again?” Ainsley, the girl with the dog, was back, minus her cute ankle biter. I was sort of sad about it.
Jake glared. “He’s our friend.”
The dreaded F-word from Jake had me humiliated all over again. Friend—that’s all I would be to them. They were a married couple. What had I been thinking? I was stupid, that was all. And horny. And lonely. The last time I’d rushed into a relationship it had ended with Miranda—and she’d killed my fish before kicking me out. I was doing it all over again. Yet, looking at Declan and Jake, I couldn’t imagine things going quite so terribly. Even if they did get sick of me, they would never be cruel. I wished I wasn’t just afriend, though.
Declan knocked his shoulder against mine. “You okay? You look down.”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
Ainsley snatched a plate from the nearby pile and waved it around in a way Jake must have thought was dangerous because he held out a hand toward her. “Yeah, well your pal there upset my dog, and Nonna made me put him in the bedroom.”
I froze up at her accusation and shook my head. “But he was fine. I was petting him.”
“That demon let you pet it?” Declan gave me the eyeball.
“Yeah.”
Declan slung his arm around me, and I wasn’t displeased to find myself sandwiched between him and Jake again. It was fast becoming my favorite place in the whole world. “Sounds like your rat likes Logan. You should be nicer to him. Maybe he’ll hellhound-sit for you.”
Ainsley stomped her foot, and I actually felt bad as she swung around and shouted, “Nonna!” She went off through the crowd of people, still calling for her grandmother.
Declan and Jake laughed, but I panicked. “I should just go. I didn’t mean to do anything wrong.” Both of their arms tightened around me.
Jake slipped his hand down around my middle and hugged me closer. “You didn’t.”
“We want you here,” Declan said in that sincere way of his that made it seem like his opinion was the only one that mattered. An odd thrill trembled along my skin.
“What if she tells everyone I did something to her dog?”
Declan shrugged. “We’ll tell them you didn’t.”
Jake leaned his weight against me for a moment. “And we know you wouldn’t. Besides, you were with Nonna.”
Declan pressed his mouth to my ear and a shiver racked me. Jake hummed out an amused sound. “Everyone knows she’s a pain in the ass. Trust me. I think everyone has pissed her off about that dog by now.”
“Yeah, but… but….”
“I promise you, everything is fine.” Jake rested his forehead against my jaw and my stomach fluttered.
“It is?”
“It is,” Declan said seriously.
Chris made his way through the people, smiling at everyone as he went. He seemed beyond happy to have a full house. He reached us and gave Declan’s chest a friendly punch. “The meat’s off the grill! We’re sitting down to eat! Grab plates and find seats anywhere you can! It’s every man, woman, and newborn baby for themselves!” There were crinkles around his bright blue eyes, and I had the dangerous thought that if I hadn’t already met Jake, I might find him attractive. God, what was wrong with me? It was probably that charming smile that did me in, same as Jake’s. I’d spent too long with people who were sour at life.
We went out to the food table on the enclosed porch and grabbed burgers to go along with the tons of side dishes I assumed some of the guests had brought along, and then we went together back into the house to a small family room. Photos were everywhere, and there were a lot of them that also included a pretty woman who must have been Jake’s mother. Chris sat down on one end of a couch and directed me to the middle cushion next to him, and Declan plopped down beside me. Jake gracefully sank to the floor between my knee and Declan’s, leaning against both of us. I was still nervous, especially sitting beside Chris, who kept giving me smiles. But Jake was touching me—Declan’s elbow kept brushing mine as I ate. I had no reason to worry.
Jake turned and glanced up at Chris. “Ainsley is all riled up because Logan petted her rat-dog.”
Chris laughed. “Oh, I love that dog.” He shook his head and grinned. “He got my finger last year and I needed a stitch.”
