“Come on, baby girl,” I said and tried taking Lena from Grim.
She wasn’t having it and went from giggling to piercing screams.
“I’ve got her,” Grim said and got up.
Lena quieted down, and I looked at the table, the tips of my ears burning. “Sorry, guys.”
They all waved me off and didn’t seem to care that their eardrums had nearly been shattered a few seconds ago.
“Luca, time for bed,” I said to my son, who was playing a card game with Talon.
He could barely hold the cards but was having the time of his life. The tip of his tongue was sticking out in concentration as he studied the cards on the table.
I tapped him on the shoulder when he didn’t respond. “Come on, Sötnos.”
“No, Momma, I’m playing Go Fish with Talon.”
I blinked at my four-year-old, then at Talon. He shrugged, grinning at me. The big biker was playing Go Fish with my son. Who would have thought that would ever happen?
“It’s a great game. And he wanted to play, so one of the guys went out and bought the cards since all we usually play is poker,” Talon said, like he had to defend himself for playing a kids’ game.
“Hey, I’m not judging,” I said and put my hand on Luca’s arm. “Time to finish your game.”
“But, Mom,” he whined, looking at Talon with big eyes.
“We can play again tomorrow, but you have to go with your mom now,” Talon said.
Luca huffed but put the cards down. “You promise?”
Talon put a hand to his heart. “Promise.”
Luca studied him for a moment, then seemed to come to the conclusion that Talon could be trusted with his promise. He got up and took my hand.
“Say goodnight to everyone,” I said, and Luca and Lena both called out to everyone. They were delighted when they received a loud chorus of goodnights back.
“You coming back down?” Talon asked. “We’re having a few drinks tonight. Nothing big.”
“Maybe,” I said, having no intention of doing anything but sleeping tonight.
We walked back to the room, Grim following me with a tired Lena. I opened the door to Sebastian’s room with the keycard he’d given me and ushered Luca inside. Lena let me take her this time, her eyes drooping.
“Thank you so much,” I said once both kids were inside.
“It’s no problem at all. And you should really come down. You’ll go crazy if you stay in the room the whole time you’re here.”
I forced out a smile, hoping I hadn’t been too obvious about my thoughts on my temporary accommodations. “I’ll think about it.”
He waved to the kids. “Good night, munchkins. See you tomorrow.”
The kids went to bed easier than anticipated, and I soon found myself sitting in the dark, trying not to make too much noise so I wouldn’t wake them up.
I didn’t want to turn the TV on, and there was only so much online poker I could play on my phone before I got bored. After an hour, I still wasn’t tired enough to go to bed.
I plugged the child monitor in, making sure it faced the bed, and grabbed the other monitor.
Guess I was joining the party downstairs.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
