“Donotmake yourself comfortable,” Deacon warns in the same kind of voice he uses for his kindergarteners.
Skyler, of course, wastes no time slumping back in the chair and getting comfy.
Deacon lets out a groan of frustration. “Jackson, do something—you all need to be going.”
Skyler sends me one of his puppy dog looks, bottom lip jutting out in a pout. “But I’m hungry. And tired. And I need a cuddle.”
“Fucking hell,” Deacon grumbles, clearly exasperated. He mustreallywant sex because it’s rare to see him get this agitated about anything.
I have no doubt Skyler’s deliberately trying to wind Deacon up for the sake of amusement, but I’m also aware of how wrung-out he looks. And I have no idea whether or not he’s even eaten tonight. “I’m sure you can wait half an hour while he grabs something to eat.”
Deacon narrows his eyes at me.
“Actually, I wouldn’t mind eating,” Tanner says. “I didn’t get dinner tonight.”
And with that simple statement, Deacon’s entire demeanor changes. After gently chiding Tanner for not taking better care of himself, Deacon whips out his phone and places an order for delivery.
“Don’t I get a say in what food we’ll be eating?” Skyler asks.
Deacon smirks at him. “Nope. You can either stay and eat what I’ve ordered, or you can go and get something yourself.”
And so that’s how we all end up sprawled around the coffee table eating—or in Drew’s and my case, choking down so as not to seem rude—plant burgers.
But if Deacon thought this choice of take out would be some kind of punishment for Skyler, he really should have thought it through more. Thanks to his egg allergy, Skyler’s pretty accustomed to soy substitutes, so a burger like this is hardly anything daunting.
“You going to finish that or just hold it all night?” Skyler teases, quirking a brow at the half-eaten burger in my hand.
“You can have the rest if you want,” I tell him, passing the burger to him. “I ate dinner already.”
Skyler smirks knowingly. “Mmmhmm…”
“Damn it,” Drew grumbles, picking at the tomato inside his bun. “Why isn’t Sully here?”
“Uh, I don’t think Sully would have even made it that far,” Deacon says with a chuckle, eyeing the three small bites Drew managed.
“Stop picking at it and pulling all the good bits out and I’ll eat yours once I’m done with this,” Skyler tells Drew sternly.
“Threeburgers?” Will asks, brows in his hairline. “I mean, they’re good, but…”
“This is the first thing I’ve eaten since breakfast,” Skyler explains, taking another massive bite of what had been my burger. “And they’re not good—they’regreat.”
I rear back a little, fixing him with a hard look. “What do you mean you haven’t eaten anything sincebreakfast?”Which was only coffee and a bowl of cereal, like always.
A guilty flush touches Skyler’s cheeks. “I was completely slammed all day. I didn’t have a chance to go get anything.”
“Can’t you put food orders in and have an intern or someone sort it out?” Will asks. “That’s what we do.”
Skyler nods. “Yeah, there’s usually a couple people going around in the afternoon to grab orders from anyone who still needs lunch, but I was in a meeting with Leona at the time. And it was a complete madhouse by the time that wrapped up anyway—a settlement deal fell through so now it’s going to court and pre-trial starts Monday. I barely had a chance to piss, let alone eat,” he says with a heavy sigh, scrubbing a hand through his dark hair. “And the only reason I get the weekend off is because I’m not in the Bar yet. Silver linings there.”
I lift my hand up to gently brush through Skyler’s hair, enjoying the feel of the silky strands sliding between my fingers and the way the tension seems to ease out of him at my touch. “I’m going to pack lunch for you next week. Just in case.”
ChapterEight
Skyler
Just in case.
The words go straight to my heart as I’m momentarily taken back in time. I tilt my head slightly, sending Jackson a hopeful glance. “Peanut butter and jelly?”
