Sean:Come on, old man!
Hunter:Harper already knows.
There is no getting out of it.
I closed my eyes, chest tightening in that familiar, uncomfortable way. The Uber made a slow left, the subtle shift of the car snapping me back for an instant as sunlight flickered across the dashboard. I wanted to see my kid. Wanted to be home.
And damn it, I wanted Dani too.
I wanted the feel of her hand in mine. The sound of her laugh filling the kitchen. Her stubbornness made me want to fight andgive in at the same time. The way she stood up for the people she cared about. I wished I could tell her all of it. Admit how much I missed the way she made the day easier. I kept picturing her waiting for me on the porch. I wanted to pull her close, breathe her in, let her see all the things I never said out loud. Hell, I wanted to tell her. I wanted to drop my guard, just for a minute, and take the risk.
That realization pissed me off more than anything. And by the time the car pulled into my driveway, I still hadn’t answered. Instead, I grabbed my bag, stepped out into the heat, and shut the door harder than necessary.
This weekend was already a problem.
And I hadn’t even unlocked the front door yet.
???
The second I stepped out onto Hunter’s back patio, the sharp scent of chlorine hit my nostrils, and the relentless sun stung my skin. It wasn’t because of the crowd. It wasn’t because of the beer already sweating in my hand. It wasn’t even because Sean was there, shirt off, loud as ever, already halfway into a story no one had asked for.
It was because of Dani.
She stood near the edge of the pool, as if she owned the space simply by being in it. Her sunglasses were pushed up into her hair, and she wore the kind of easy smile that drew people in. As one of the kids said something funny, Dani threw her head back in laughter, her whole face lighting up in a way that made it impossible not to look.
I stopped short, and Hunter caught it immediately.
He leaned in close, voice low, amused. “Told you this was a great idea.”
I shot him a look. “Didn’t ask for commentary.”
“Didn’t need to,” he said. “Your face said it all.”
I took a long pull from my beer and forced myself to scan the rest of the yard. Kids were everywhere, with Harper running through the sprinkler alongside Cami and Hunter’s twins, her shrieks seemingly trying to break the sound barrier. The grill was enveloped in smoke, filling the backyard with the smell of charred burgers. Nearby, Nick leaned against the fence, phone out, pretending he wasn’t watching his kids every two seconds.
A normal BBQ like ones we’ve had a hundred times before.
No matter how hard I tried, my eyes kept finding Dani. Each glance was a silent confession, a tug-of-war between restraint and want. My grip tightened on the bottle until my knuckles blanched. Every beat of my heart seemed keyed to her laughter—traitorous, impatient, impossible to ignore.
Eventually, she caught me looking. Although she didn’t smile right away. Just tilted her head, lips curving slowly, like she knew exactly what she was doing to me.
I exhaled, struggling for composure.
I turned back to the guys and muttered, “Someone hand me another beer.”
Sean obliged immediately, smirking. “You drink like that every weekend, Carter, or is this a special occasion?”
“Only when I’m surrounded by idiots,” I said.
He laughed, unbothered. “Fair.”
We stood there for a minute, the clink of bottles and the sound of kids filling the space between us. Hunter leaned against the railing,casually watching me over the rim of his beer.
“So,” he said lightly. “Dani looks good.”
I didn’t answer.
Sean followed his gaze. “Yeah, she does. You’ve got one nice-looking nanny,” Sean said, grinning.
