My thighs clench around his hips on instinct.
Clay lets out a low whistle. “Well. There it is.”
Joshua steps up beside us, sliding a hand up my thigh as he dips his head and catches my bottom lip between his teeth, sucking gently until my breath stutters.
They are out to kill me tonight.
But honestly, what a way to go.
“Mmm,” he murmurs against my mouth. “You’re being rude, Carolina. I want some cake too.”
I laugh breathlessly. “Get in line.”
Clay lets out a sharp exhale, eyes flicking between us. “I swear to God, I’m about five seconds away from grabbing the mic and announcing that the party’s over and everyone needs to leave immediately.”
Joshua smiles against my lip, entirely unbothered. “You started it.”
“I absolutely did not,” Clay argues. “She weaponized frosting.”
I’m still catching my breath when Chiara’s voice cuts through from somewhere behind them.
“Carolina?”
All three of them freeze.
Slowly, Joshua releases my lip while Xander straightens. Clay lifts his hands like he’s been caught committing a felony.
I peer around their shoulders, trying for innocence. “Hi?”
“Don’t stop on our account,” Chiara says, laughing. “But it’s getting late, and we’re old now,” she announces dramatically. Leo stands behind her, already holding their coats. “Gotta get home before we turn intopumpkins.” Her eyes sweep over thethree men efficiently boxing me in against the counter, then her smile turns wicked. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Leo snorts. “That leaves… very little off-limits.”
“I did not need to know that.” I groan, covering my face.
Chiara just laughs, blows me a kiss, and they both wave before heading for the door.
The moment they’re gone, Clay exhales like he’s been holding his breath for an hour. “Okay. I wasthis closeto making it weird.”
“You were already there,” I say dryly.
Xander smirks. “You live there, love.”
Shortly after—thank God—the crowd finally starts to thin. Final hugs. Congratulations on repeat. Leftover cake is packed into Tupperware and pressed into people’s hands whether they ask for it or not. The karaoke machine disappears before Clay can attempt one last song.
Sophia and Howie are the last to linger. She smooths my hair for what has to be the hundredth time today, fussing like she hasn’t already done this exact motion all afternoon. “We’re right next door if you need us.”
Howie nods, eyes shiny again, and pulls me into one more solid hug. “Anytime, kiddo.”
Then the door closes behind them, and silence settles over the house.
Just us.
Fucking finally.
I sigh in relief, Xander watches, amusement tugging at his mouth. On a mission, I walk straight to him, rise onto my toes, and loop my arms around his neck. “Take me to bed.”
He doesn’t ask questions, just lifts me and carries me upstairs as if I weigh nothing at all, and something in my chest flips at the certainty of it. When he sets me down, he lingers in the doorway, shoulder against the frame, eyes dragging over mefrom head to toe, like he’s deciding what to do to me first. His sleeves are rolled to the elbows, his tattoos flexing when his arms cross.
