Noah watched as Rose took one of Lani’s hands in hers. “Please stay with us, Lani. We’re going to have so much fun.”
“I really can’t, I… ah, I have my dog here?”
“Dog?” Noah raised a brow, and Lani blushed. She’d told him the dog wasn’t hers. He wondered what had changed.
“We love dogs! He can play with Noodle,” Rose said. “He’s my present from Mommy and Daddy, I got him last week.”
“You called that ball of fluff Noodle?” Noah teased her.
“He likes pasta.” Rose gave him a big smile.
“Buddy’s big and may frighten a little dog.” Lani was trying everything she could to get away from the party. Noah’s money was on the McBride women.
“It’ll probably be him that’s scared of Noodle, to be fair,” Branna said. “That little beast is a terror.”
She was trapped, and knew it when Rose took her hand. “Please say you’ll stay, Lani.”
She shot him a look, but he kept his expression blank.
“I don’t have a gift.”
“The cake and just having you here is enough.” Rose’s smile was cheesy.
“That kid’s going to be a politician,” Noah whispered to Branna.
“She can con her father into just about anything already, and her grandfathers are pathetic with her.”
He was still laughing as he walked outside behind the women. Deliberately going left when Lani went right, he stepped off the deck.
“Catch!”
Looking up, he reacted and ran, taking the ball and a Texan at the same time.
“You rip my shirt, you’re paying,” Noah snarled, getting to his feet with blood in his eyes.
Tex made kissy sounds as he headed back to where Jake stood. Noah beaned him with the ball.
Chapter Ten
Lani sipped her soda and watched the men play ball. Wincing as Buster hit the ground hard, she wondered how they could class it as fun. She’d have to be dead not to acknowledge that seriously hot men getting sweaty wasn’t hard on the eyes, but it looked like hell from where she stood.
So far she’d been here an hour, and in that time she’d met people whose names she would never remember and some she already knew. It would be fun if Lani belonged, but she didn’t, so she wanted out. Besides, it brought back too many memories of the parties her parents had held.
Twice she’d headed toward the steps, and both times someone had engaged her in conversation. Putting down her drink, she thought her easiest escape route would be going back inside, then out the side door she’d seen.
“Come on, Lani, we’ll teach you to play ball.” Buster appeared before her.
“What? No way. I was just leaving.”
“We’ll go easy on you, and we need another woman. Faith wants to play.”
“Ah, no, thanks. I’ll pass; besides, I have something to do.”
“What?” Buster stood directly in front of her, blocking her escape route.
“What?”
“What something do you have to do?”
