He climbed to his feet and met me in the entranceway, while Knox paused their show.
“Eh. Chaotic. Exhausting. Stopped two kids from sneaking in flasks and caught three different couples trying to sneak off.”
Riot laughed. “Ah, the good ole days.”
“Like you’ve ever been to a school dance before,” Knox added from the couch.
“More than you,” Riot shot back. “I chaperoned prom with Koa last year, remember?”
Oh, I remembered. Riot had looked so fucking sexy in his tux, I’d thought I would combust before we’d even made it to the dance.
“Whatever,” Knox mumbled, turning back toward the TV and fiddling with his phone. I raised an eyebrow at Riot in unspoken question as he took my suit jacket from me and hung it over the barstool at the kitchen counter.
He shook his head slightly and shrugged. He didn’t know what was going on either. Riot had told me that Knox was having some issues with that jerk Sam, but that was it. I wished Knox would open up to us, but all we could do was continue to remind him we were there and hope he’d come to us before things got out of hand.
Riot started to undo my tie. I swallowed hard and hoped he didn’t notice. Did he realize how badly he was breaking me when he did domestic things like that?
“What’re y’all watching?” I bent down, taking off my dress shoes. Ahh, that was so much better. Why did they have to pinch your toes like that?
“Frieren. You should watch with us. I think you could relate.” Something about Knox’s tone had my head snapping toward him.
His expression was neutral, but I was still dreading his answer when I asked, “Why would I relate?”
“It’s about this guy who loved this elf woman for like sixty years but never told her, and her oblivious ass didn’t realize it until after he died.” Knox grinned at me, eyes glinting with trouble.
I’d always wondered if Knox knew my true feelings for Riot. He was an extremely observant kid, never missing a damn thing. And he was insanely protective of his big brother. I knewhe loved me, but if he thought there was anything that could potentially hurt Riot—like me confessing my undying love and destroying our friendship—he wouldn’t hesitate to confront me about it. And fuck me, that confirmed it.
My heart pounded in my chest. Fuck, how much did Knox know? For how long? Had he said anything to Riot?
Riot, bless his oblivious heart, didn’t seem to notice that I wanted to bury myself under the floorboards and never leave. No, I didn’t think Knox had said anything to his brother, at least not yet. I glared at the kid, but he was looking at Riot, not me.
“You hungry, Ko? I can heat you up some stir fry while you change, and then you can watch with us,” Riot asked, not remotely reacting to Knox’s comments.
I tried to breathe normally. Was I succeeding? Fucking Knox. I would have to talk to him when Riot wasn’t around, beg him to stay quiet. Riot couldn’t know. It would ruin everything?—
Riot tilted his head in concern when I didn’t answer. “Ko?”
I forced a smile. “Sorry, tired. Um, yeah, stir fry sounds good.”
“Perfect. Go on and get changed and cleaned up, and I’ll heat it up.”
“Thanks.”
My cheeks were on fire, and I was glad to escape as I hurried out of the living room and into our bedroom. The room I shared with Riot. I changed out of my suit in record time. I should shower, but the longer I was in here, the more I’d be in my head, analyzing everything Riot and I had done, everything Knox had seen and thought and wondered. What would happen if he decided it was best that Riot knew? Would Riot kick me out? Would I lose the only family I had left?
Deep down, I didn’t think so. Regardless of how he felt about me, he would never keep me from the kids. I was sure of that. But our relationship would change. It would have to. There wasno way Riot would be comfortable keeping things the way they were, knowing how truly and deeply in love with him I was. All the casual touches, the cuddling together, how we confided in each other would be gone.
I grabbed a pair of pajama pants with little ducks on them that the twins had picked out for me one year and a Spartans football T-shirt, putting them on. The shirt was from my first year coaching and was starting to fade, but it was soft as fuck and I loved it.
I took a quick look in the mirror. Fuck, was there glitter on my face? Yeah, a shower was definitely in order before bed.
Riot was already back on the couch by the time I came out. He’d piled up a plate with homemade stir-fry and had my favorite beer waiting for me on the coffee table. There was also a massive bowl of popcorn propped between Knox and Riot.
He smiled warmly at me. “That’s more like it. I like seeing you all dressed up, but this is my Koa.”
My Koa. I didn’t allow myself to read into it. I couldn’t.
Riot patted the spot to his right. I plopped down onto the soft cushion, and immediately Riot leaned into my side. I didn’t even think about it, placing my arm around his shoulders, bringing him close.
