Tempted & Taken (Men of Haven #4)(63)

Darya drew him out of his sidebar with Beckett with her innocent question to Levi. “What is Skee-ball?”

The look on the kid’s face was priceless. Like he couldn’t possibly comprehend anyone had gone through life without such dire information. “They don’t have that in Russia?”

“Well, I don’t know. We might call it something else.”

Levi twisted in his chair and shot puppy dog eyes at Natalie. “Can I show her, Mom?” Not waiting for an answer, he spun back to Darya. “It’s way cool. They’ve got these balls made out of wood. Or maybe not real wood, but they look like wood and feel like it, too. Then you roll it up this ramp and try to get the ball in different holes. The harder the hole, the more points you get.”

He paused for all of one beat, seemed to realize he’d yet to get an answer and turned back to his mom. “Can I? I mean, Darya gets a chance to play, too, right? So, someone needs to teach her how to do it.”

Natalie tried to fight back her laughter, but with Levi’s enthusiasm she’d have had to be the devil to pull it off. “I’d say that’s up to Darya.” She shifted her attention across the table. “Do you want to learn how to play Skee-ball?”

“Well, if I’m going to learn,” she said, her pretty gaze locked on Levi, “I’d do best to learn from a champion.”

“Awesome!” Levi jumped to his feet and held out his hand to Trevor. “Can I have my game card now?”

“Don’t look at me. This is Uncle Beckett’s thing.”

Axel chuckled from the end of the table and raised his scotch in salute toward Beckett. “The price of matchmaking, brother. Fork over the loot and let the lad win our girl over.”

Darya leaned close to Knox and whispered, “What does he mean by that?”

Knox cupped the back of her neck, her silky hair playing over his knuckles. It should have scared him, how easy it was being with her. How natural it felt to have her beside him at a time reserved for only family. But seeing her smile—feeling her presence beside him—was more natural than anything he’d ever done in his life. Made more sense than any line of code or tricky riddle. “It means family night is usually just for family because we do it out at Jace and Axel’s ranch, but Beck knew I’d want you with me, so he changed venues.”

“Who said it had anything to do with you?” As soon as Levi got within arm’s reach, Beckett forked over a stack of game cards big enough to tire out a whole brood of kids. Levi promptly started divvying out one to each person, but Beckett kept talking. “Maybe I’m biding my time until she figures out I’m a better bet so I can slide in and reap the rewards.”

“And here I’d thought I was gonna make it a whole day off without having to stitch anyone up.” Zeke wrapped an arm around Gabe and took a pull off his beer.

Jace chuckled, but it was Vivienne who spoke, her attention focused on Darya. “You see? This is why we can’t have family dinners in public. Too much testosterone gathered in one place. I can never tell if they’re going to beat their chests or each other’s faces.”

“At least they’re old enough they’re not beating something else all the time,” Sylvie said under her breath.

No matter how quiet she’d said it, it still garnered a table full of laughs, even from Darya who didn’t seem the least bit put off by the crude reference.

“Now, that’s a picture I didn’t need,” Danny said.

Ninette stood as soon as Levi finished rounding the table, cupped his shoulder and motioned Darya toward the arcade area. “Come on, Darya. The Skee-ball master’s getting impatient, and these guys look like they’re gonna marinate in their after-dinner drinks awhile longer.”

“All the better for us,” Sylvie said, standing as well. “The more the sots drink, the worse their coordination.”

Despite the amused but slightly overwhelmed expression on her face, Darya stood and pushed in her chair, following Sylvie’s lead.

Sylvie scanned the rest of the table, her gaze resting a little longer on Viv, Natalie and Gabe. “How about the rest of you ladies? Care ta team up and trounce the lads?”

“Oh, yeah.” Viv tossed her napkin on the table and stood, spurring Gabe and Natalie to do the same.

“You realize you’re still outnumbered by three,” Jace said, his eyes lingering appreciatively on Viv’s ass.

“Nope, only by two.” Natalie leaned in and gave Trevor a kiss on the cheek. “We’re gonna sweet talk Levi into pinch hitting for us.”

“Don’t do it, son!” Trevor shouted over his shoulder as the group migrated from the table, Darya casting a quick wave over her shoulder as the women herded her into the sea of games.

Axel grinned and lifted his scotch for another swig. “Too late. The lad’s got that gleam in his eye that says he’s already smitten.”

“Just like his dad,” Jace added. “Can’t help bein’ a knight in shining armor for the women.”

“Like you don’t buckle the second Viv crooks a finger,” Trevor said.

“True, but my armor’s dirty.”

Zeke chuckled and set his beer on the table. “Something tells me it’s the dirty part she likes best.”

The quip drew a full round of laughter, the overall tenor of it a little empty without the women’s lightness to round it out.