My chuckle doesn’t go past her, considering she throws a scowl over her shoulder as she hugs Macey back. I like how comfortable our family is with her, despite how little time they’ve known her. It takes a lot for a person to make their way here, but it didn’t take much with her.
It’s easy to love Sunny.
“So, I did some flirting to make sure we have the pool table for the night.” Macey smiles victoriously.
“So that explains the disappearance,” I say.
I tap my fingers on the table, trying to stop myself from checking Diane's location again and fail miserably.She’s still there. I look up and see Sunny watching me.
The love triangle comes back with beers for everyone, passing them around. She scoots in closer to me to let everyone else in, and my fucking heart does a somersault inside my chest feeling her so close. Our thighs press up against one another. Her face is so close to mine that I can take in all the small details that make up the girl I’m quickly falling for.
The seventeen freckles that cover her nose, the different curls that cascade around her head. The way her smile is forced and doesn’t reach her lips, only fueling my desire to get a genuine one from her.
As the beers are being passed around, she lays a hand overmine, the one that rests on my phone. “Put it away. Be in the moment,” she whispers.
I look at her, bending to her will and immediately put it in my pocket.
I’ll do anything for you, Sunny.
SUNNY
All it took was two rounds of beers and time spent with his family for the Tyler I know to reemerge.
I know now why he loves these small moments with his family. Here, with them, he doesn’t have to be the protector and problem solver. He can simply just be Tyler.
A smile threatens my lips, because he hasn’t touched his phone since I asked him to put it away.
While Macey and Tyler chat, my attention is pulled towards Sam, Anthony and Cole at the pool table. Sam stands with a pool stick parallel to her. Her long brown hair runs down her back as she blinks her sparkling amber eyes at Cole. Despite the fact Anthony is right next to her with an arm wrapped around her and resting on the pool table.
What happened between you two?
Cole doesn’t pay mind to either as he shoots his shot on a striped ball and misses. On cue, Sam steps out of Anthony’s orbit and flips her hair with a mischievous glint in her eye. She bends over in front of Cole even though his eyes are everywhere else.
“Oh god,” I hear Macey groan, watching the love triangle before us. “Let me go intervene.” She scoots out of the booth.
Glancing towards Tyler, I see him sitting with his broad shoulders slumped. There's a boyish grin on his face as he rubs his hands on his jean clad thighs. For someone with such a smart mouth earlier, he looks almost…coy now.
“What?” I face him.
The right corner of his lips tug.
I can’t like you, Tyler.
“Nothing.” He takes another sip of his beer.
“Spit it out, Caddell,” I snap back.
“Don’t use that name.”
“Right.” I forgot. He hates using his family name because of the man who sired it to him. I blame that one on the beer.
Here, with his family, he is simply Tyler. A boyish grin, softer features and greens that seem to sparkle. Outside of this, he is Caddell. Sharp features, lethal calm and suits.
I wonder how often he gets to be Tyler, and how often he is punished for it.
“Dance with me.” Not a question, but a statement.
“What?” I blink at his outstretched hand. It isn’t uncommon for people to dance at Martha’s. But we arenotthose people.
