Page 63 of Their Cruel Play
“You look nice.” It comes out of me before I can stop myself. They do look nice, but they always do. Caden has on a green shirt that highlights his eyes while Jack has on a black shirt that clings to his muscles.
“So do you, Harper.” Caden steps into me and hugs me tight against him. He kisses me beside my ear before releasing me.
My cheeks feel like they’re on fire at the realization that my mom witnessed that.
“Harper.” Jack leans down and presses a kiss to my forehead. “My mom wanted me to bring this to you, Jennifer.”
When he holds out a bottle of wine, Mom wipes her hands before taking it.
“That was very nice of her. Tell her I hope I’m back to days soon so I can see her more.” Mom smiles and puts the wine in the refrigerator. She works tonight, so it’s not like she can drink.
“I will.”
I take the seat next to Nico and Jack sits on my other side. Mom watches them carefully as Caden glances at both of them but then stands behind me. I shake my head.
“Dinner should be ready in a few minutes.” Mom stirs her pan again.
“Can I get the dishes on the table?” Jack stands and moves around the island to the cabinet with the plates.
Caden slides into his vacated seat and puts his hand on my bare knee.
Mom nods. “That would be lovely. Thank you.”
“No problem.” Jack smiles and takes seven plates to the table.
When the next knock on the door comes, Nico gets up to let Eli in. He walks over to me and runs a hand over my hair before turning to my mother.
“Thank you for inviting me to dinner.”
Mom’s face flushes a little. “Of course.”
The only one missing is Luke. I rub my fingers together, wondering where he went.
“Wasn’t Luke with you?” I asked Caden softly.
“He had an errand to run.” Caden squeezes my knee. “He’ll be here.”
I blow out a breath and stare at the door. What errand was important enough to do right before dinner with my mother?
Mom pulls some chicken out of the oven. “This is it. Sorry, we’re not super fancy with dinner. You can grab a plate and fill it at the stove. It will save Harper from having to do a ton of dishes when I go to work.”
“We’ll help with the dishes.” Eli hands my mom a plate from the table.
She nods, still overwhelmed with the large guys all in her kitchen. “Well, dig in.”
I bite my lip and look at the door. I grab my phone and check to see if Luke has texted.
“He’ll be here, little nympho,” Caden whispers in my ear.
I search his green eyes, looking for something to reassure me. But why isn’t he here?
Maybe his dad needed something?
When I nod, Caden leans in and kisses me softly before grabbing his and my plate from the table. He hands me mine and I follow him through the line.
“What do you want to drink?” Nico asks.
“Root beer.” It feels weird to have all of them in the kitchen with me as we do something as normal as fill our plates.
