Heartbreaker (Unbreakable #1)(48)

“Uh…for now.” Mase interjected from the end of the table, grabbing a rack of ribs.

Cade’s expression darkened. “What do you mean for now?”

“Oh, are you moving in with Laura?” Hannah’s brows lifted as she plucked a deviled egg from the plate handed off to her.

“No.” He passed Ben the bowl of coleslaw. “Laura and I broke up.”

Hannah’s brows fell. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

Mase gave a hard headshake, his long dark-blond bangs falling over one eye. “Don’t be. She got a position with a law firm in Chicago. Wants to work hundred-hour weeks for the next few years to make junior partner. We’d been growing apart while she studied for the bar anyway.”

Cade grabbed a roll and tossed it onto his plate that was piled high with food. “What’s that got to do with you moving out?”

“Just got back from the South Pacific. Won a couple of windsurfing competitions down there. Might travel the globe and compete. See where that takes me.”

Cade dropped his beer down with a hard clang. “You’re not moving out. You will always have a room there.”

Mase pegged him with a hard stare. “Thanks.”

Kiki leaned over the table, looking beyond Kendall to see Mase. “That where you got the new tattoo?”

Mase nodded, lifting the cuff of his T-shirt higher over his right biceps. Clear plastic wrap covered a tribal tattoo that wound around the widest part of the muscle. “Yeah. Got it in Tahiti, day before yesterday.”

A loud bang echoed and everyone snapped their attention toward the house.

“We’re here!” Two voices called out in near unison.

Kiki nudged Logan. “That would be Chloe and Daniel.”

“Are we late?” Chloe dressed rockabilly today: 1950’s pinup-style makeup with dark arching brows, fire-red hair pulled back in a wide black headband, black-and-white polka dot dress with red neck straps and matching petticoats. Classic louder-than-life Chloe.

Daniel approached the table and turned his head left and right, surveying the spread. “Did we miss anything?” His jet-black Mohawk quivered back and forth, and his ear, nose, and brow piercings gleamed in the sunlight.

“Chloe and Daniel, this is Logan, Darren’s sister.”

“Nice to meet you, Logan.” Chloe gave her a half-hug, then planted a bright red kiss on her cheek before taking a seat at one of the two empty place settings.

Daniel held a hand out to Logan. “This bunch of rejects behaving?”

Logan shook his hand, lips pressed into a firm line as she fought a smile. Then her expression hardened further. “Hell, no.”

“Good.” Daniel lumbered toward Chloe. When he sat beside her at the end of the table, he swept a casual hand toward the rest of us who all still stared at him. “Carry on.”

For the next hour, lunch turned into layers of conversations. Nearly everyone had an opinion about the new ballpark going in at Fairmount Park. Hannah and Cade shared the progress of their upcoming restaurant along the Schuylkill River. Ben, Mase, and Cade analyzed the latest baseball games and debated which teams would make the playoffs this year. I got sucked into a conversation with Daniel and Chloe about the lineup at this year’s Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival.

Through it all, Logan seemed to come to life. Kendall sat on her other side, Kristen opposite her, next to Jason and me. And Kiki and her sisters kept pulling Logan into every one of their topics: shoes, shopping, favorite cupcake flavors…shoes again. Logan would glance at me every now and then, broad smile on her face.

I kept staring at Kiki. Didn’t care one bit if anyone noticed. Each time she caught me, she would draw in a deep breath, then exhale slowly, her smile softening.

“Who wants pie?” Kristen pushed up from the table.

“Duh.” Mase said, standing with her. “Who doesn’t want pie?”

Plates were cleared, everyone lending a hand by carrying something into the kitchen. Then three kinds of pie were served: cherry, apple, and strawberry-rhubarb.

Kiki didn’t sit back down, however. Plate of pie in hand, she nodded toward a seating area off to the side while the others dug into their desserts at the picnic tables.

I followed right after her.

We ended up leaning against a three-foot high brick planter, watching the others as she forked small bites of cherry pie into her mouth. She’d sidled up next to me, her arm pressed against mine. The contact felt both innocent and intimate.

I put my half-eaten apple pie on the brick beside me. “Thank you for inviting us, Kiki. Logan’s having a great time.”

She speared a lone cherry with her fork then popped it into her mouth. “You’re welcome.”

“Me too.” My whispered words felt heavy. But I needed her to know how much it meant.

Kiki put down her fork, then swept a slow gaze at each person.

“Friends mean everything to me. You included.” She glanced at the brickwork under our feet. After a few seconds, she lifted her head and stared off into the distance. “I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize that.”

Fear edged her tone, and I put a gentle hand over hers. When she finally looked at me, her lower lip trembled.

I touched a finger under her chin, tilting her face up. “Hey. I don’t want that either.”