There’s a knock at the door, and Tristan is there. “Am I cool?”
Sadie and I look at each other, then turn to him at the same time. “Nope.”
And then we all laugh, and it feels so damn good.
Chapter 42
Tristan
As Sadie, Lark, and I are walking into the kitchen, I can hear my father barking at my sisters, and I pray that, just this once, he can behave. Lark was nervous—hell, I’m nervous—but thankfully things have gone well so far.
Seeing how she and Sadie interact makes my decision to be with Lark feel more and more right. They both get along great and often gang up on me—which is not so great.
“Where is she?” Pop barks.
“Dad, I’m warning you,” Harper’s voice rings out.
I step into the room first, taking Lark’s hand in mine. “There’s no need to warn him, Harper. He knows I’ll put him in a home if he acts up.”
Pop scoffs. “You’d have to catch me first, son.”
I roll my eyes. He thinks he can outrun all of us. In some ways, he does, though he’s mostly just running us in circles.
“Hi, Mr. Stone,” Lark says, dropping my hand. “I’m Lark. You already know my last name, but it’s really nice to meet you.”
Dad steps to her, taking her hands in his. “Sweetheart, you’re the only Gatlin I’d ever let around here.”
Lark smiles broadly. “Really? Why is that?”
“Because one day you can be a Stone.” He winks, and Lark bursts out laughing.
“Well, all right then. You are adorable.”
“You think so?” Pop puffs up his chest. “I was a handsome man in my prime.”
“You’re a handsome man now,” Lark tells him.
Pop grins. “What do you say you dump that loser over there and we can have dinner.”
I come up behind her, my hand resting on her back. “That’s enough from you, old man.”
“Yeah, yeah, you just don’t like that I’m smooth and the ladies adore me.” He bumps Lark with his elbow. “You’re thinking about it, ain’t you?”
“I am. Very seriously, actually,” Lark agrees and then turns to face me. “I mean, he is adorable and clearly has game. Can you top dinner?”
“I built you a tent on the ridge,” I remind her. “With lights and a sink.”
She turns to Pop. “He did do that.”
“And I drove you home in a damn monsoon and stepped in when some asshole was being handsy, and I took you away for a romantic getaway.”
“You took her away? When was this?” Veronica asks with a smirk.
“Mind your business.”
Harper snorts. “You’re having this fight in front of us, which pretty much means we’re in the business.”
“She’s got a point,” Lark agrees with my sister.
