“Did you tell Ayden and Cam about us?” I ask Jenson in a low voice as we stand by the grill and wait for everyone to arrive.
Connor and Kyle are bouncing around the backyard, throwing a football and then practicing how to spike it. They’ll stay for a couple of hours, and then Cindy’s going to come by and take them to her house for the night.
“No, and I’m not going to say anything with the boys here.” Jenson runs his hand down my back. “Don’t worry. All the Wilds remember you fondly.”
The back door flings open, and Colton’s blinding smile is all I can see.
“J, nice place!” He jogs down the few steps to the yard and flings an arm around Jenson.
He brings him in close for a hug, and I step back to give them space. But Colton turns and wraps me up in a hug as well.
“So good to see you again,” he says, his blue eyes bright with an emotion I can’t decipher.
“Thanks, Colt.” I swallow as I remember the last time I saw him in the hospital nursery. I don’t know if he ever told Jenson we chatted then, and I never brought it up. “It’s been a long time.”
“It has.” He leans in close to me. “And I still remember exactly what I said to you the last time we saw each other. Do you?”
His eyes study me as he waits to see how I respond.
I break into a soft laugh. “Yes, I do. You were quite the optimist as always.”
“Hey, looks like I was right.”
He glances back at Jenson, who’s raising an eyebrow at him.
“So Olivia,” Colt adds as he waves his hand to someone, “You haven’t met Skylar yet.”
A beautiful redhead with creamy white skin and a friendly face approaches us. Her pink and yellow sundress hugs her curves, and she walks slowly toward us as she eyes me curiously.
When she reaches us, Colton kisses her temple and puts his arm around her. “This is my wife, Sky. This is Olivia, Jenson’s best friend since they were babies.”
Sky shakes my hand warmly. “Yay! More women to help balance out all this testosterone.”
Before I can answer her, what sounds like a stampede of elephants storms Jenson’s backyard. Ayden walks toward us holding hands with a pretty blond woman, Brayden and Cameron follow close behind, and Dylan is last. All the guys are wearing jeans and t-shirts that stretch across their broad chests. They saunter through the yard casually, confidently, like they’re used to being stared at. They make quite a pack, and even though he’s bringing up the rear, Dylan is clearly the leader.
He’s carrying two six-packs of beer in one hand, and his free arm is around a tall woman with long legs that never end. She could easily pass for a model.
“That’s Jasalie, Dylan’s wife,” Sky says to me. “Isn’t she intimidating?”
“She really is,” I say.
“She’s so freaking nice, though,” Sky gushes. “And she knows self-defense. She could literally take out an attacker if she had to. Dylan’s head over heels for her.”
That’s obvious. He and Jasalie seem perfectly matched and not just because she’s the only woman here who’s nearly on his height level. She’s wearing black skinny jeans, matching black heels, and a hot pink spaghetti-strap top. Like her husband, she really is flawless looking like she just wakes up beautiful. Dylan gently brushes his lips to her blond hair as she laughs.
He gives me a kiss on the cheek and introduces me to Jasalie.
She shakes my hand and glances from me to Jenson. “You two are…”
“Old friends,” Dylan says quickly, and I send him a grateful glance. “We all met Olivia years ago as kids.”
“That’s so cool,” Jasalie says, her guarded expression dropping some. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Hey!” Cam and Ayden greet Jenson, who brings me close.
“You remember Olivia, right?” he says.
Ayden’s blue eyes flash with recognition. “Of course. You were one of the best parts of coming to visit Liberty Falls. You were always fun to hang out with.” He introduces me to Bella, his girlfriend, who smiles shyly. Bella’s dressed casually like me, in blue cut-offs and a simple tank. I like her immediately.
