“What’s that?” Lucas asked.
“You’re a bossy little sh—” Tucker caught himself remembering that Zoi was still in the room.
Lucas chuckled. “I’ve been told that a time or two. That’s one thing I got from my mother, one of her better qualities. But seriously, go and grab another beer and relax, unless you need to leave because you have somewhere to be tomorrow.”
“Nope, not until Monday,” Tucker told him.
“Then chill and relax for a bit, no sense rushing off to your hotel if you have nowhere important to be.”
Tucker nodded, and Lucas walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. He opted out on the beer but the idea just to sit back and relax for a bit sounded really good to him. Tucker picked up the TV remote before sitting down, and he flipped through the channels before settling on something to watch. He snuggled deep into the cushions getting comfortable while he waited for Lucas to return.
* * *
Tucker openedhis eyes when the scent of coffee hit his nose. He looked around trying to figure out where the hell he was. Then he remembered that he was waiting for Lucas to return after putting Zoi to bed.
Shit, I must have fallen asleep.
He scrubbed his face roughly as he sat up, threw the blanket off himself and set his feet on the floor. He snapped his head quickly to the left when he heard the cutest giggle and saw Zoi standing by the sofa looking at him before she ran off in the other direction. Tucker smiled and then rubbed his eyes trying to wake up. He needed to get up, get back to his hotel and clean up. He hadn’t expected to fall asleep, but he guessed he was more tired than he thought.
“Hey.”
He looked up and saw Lucas standing beside him with Zoi standing beside his leg. He was wearing a T-shirt that stretched over his chest and slightly muscled arms and gray sweatpants. His hair wasn’t combed, and a few of his black curls hung loosely in his face touching his long dark lashes.
Why the hell am I noticing that?
“I hope she didn’t wake you?” Lucas asked.
“Nah, it was the scent of coffee, actually,” he answered. “Sorry about last night.”
“It’s no problem. You must have needed the rest,” Lucas told him. “Why don’t you go and wash your face while Iget you that coffee. How do you take it, by the way?”
“Black, no sugar,” Tucker answered.
“A man after my own heart,” Lucas said with a smile.
He went to walk off when Tucker stopped him. “Um . . . where’s your extra bathroom?”
“Shoot, I didn’t give you the five-cent tour, did I?” Lucas said.
Tucker smiled. “It happens, we can’t all be perfect hosts.”
“Don’t let my mother hear you say that. All right, come on. Let me show you where everything is. But I have a rule.”
“And what’s that?” Tucker asked.
“The first time you come into my house I’ll get anything you need because you’re the guest. But the next time you walk through my front door, you’re on your own.”
“So basically, remember where everything is, then?” Tucker asked. He respected that and funnily enough, he and Rochelle had similar rules when it came to friends.
“Pretty much,” Lucas said and started walking.
Tucker looked down when tiny hands held onto one of his fingers to see Zoi looking up at him. She, to him, resembled Lucas, down to her wild curly hair that needed taming.
“Are you going to show me around instead of your daddy?” he asked her. She nodded and started walking, pulling him along. Zoi led him up the stairs following her father. They passed a couple of rooms, and Lucas pointed out Zoi’s room, decorated in pink and purple fit for a princess. Lucas pointed out his home office that was large enough to fit a king-size bed. He was directed to an extra bedroom that had a connecting bathroom.
“That used to be Tyler’s room before he got married. I let Raynebow use it when she sleeps over,” Lucas told him. “As you can see she really took it over.”
It was decorated in soft, light-blue and gray tones. He was guided to another room that was decorated in gray and white. Tucker saw a pattern—he’d noticed gray was everywhere and he wondered whose favorite color it was.
