Be My Hero (Forbidden Men #3)(66)

I nodded, unable to stop smiling at him. I hadn't seen him since his last visit to my hospital room to deliver Skylar's stuffed pig. That had been way too long ago. Just gazing into his warm, brown eyes refreshed something inside me.

He paused a moment as if he wanted to say more. Then he shook his head, smiled, and turned away. I watched him disappear into the back door, and let out a little sigh, already wanting him to return.

Shaking such strange thoughts from my head, I made my way to the chairs set up out in the driveway where Mason was flipping burgers on the grill. I found the nearest open seat and sank down, holding Skylar to my chest.

I guess I should've known better than to sit by Ten, though.

He sent me a chin bob and wiggled his eyebrows. "How's that breastfeeding coming along?"

Oh, good Lord. Really? I sent him my best dry stare. "About as well as your ability to sleep with married women, it appears."

"Oh, snap. That was low." He scowled at me before glancing around and lowering his voice. "How do you know about that, anyway?"

I tipped my head to the front of the house. "Window to my bedroom's open."

Ten's face actually reddened as he sank lower in his chair. "Not cool."

The back door opened again, and I forgot about Ten as I glanced over. But it wasn't Pick who emerged. Reese was the first to come outside, hauling an armful of hamburger buns and paper plates. Aspen was behind her, carrying the vegetable tray. Caroline came next, toting a basket of ketchup, mustard, relish, and other condiments. And then, finally, Pick drew up the rear, his tattooed arms loaded down with pop bottles, cups, and bags of potato chips.

"Pick," Reese called over her shoulder to him. "Why don't you just call your family and ask if they want to come to lunch too?"

Next to me, Ten muttered under his breath. "Shit, no. Say no, say no, say no."

Pick gnawed on his lip before casting me a quick glance. Then he shrugged. "Okay."

Ten groaned and sank even lower.

Even though I knew Pick's marriage wasn't a love match and he'd never slept with his wife, I wasn't sure how to feel about meeting her. I did want to meet Julian. But Tristy? Not so much. She had his last name, his beloved time, and so much of his attention. I couldn't help but be jealous of her.

After a minute of pressing his phone to his ear, a worried look crossed his face. "Hmm. She's not home."

"Oh, thank God," Ten whispered.

"So, they won't miss you if you stayed for lunch?" Reese pressed, batting her lashes hopefully.

"Yeah. I guess." But he still looked uneasy. "It's just strange. She doesn't usually like to take the baby out. I wonder where they went."

Across the driveway, Noel's two younger brothers were trying to teach Quinn how to whistle.

"You have to curl your tongue like this," instructed the oldest brother, whose name I think was Brandt.

Noel chuckled. "Okay, leave him alone. His poor tongue already has enough to worry about."

I glanced at Ten, waiting for him to jump in with his own crude comment. But he was too busy concentrating on kicking the toe of his shoe into the ground.

I frowned and jabbed my elbow his way.

He looked up and scowled at me. "What?"

I lifted a hand. "Aren't you going to say something to that?"

"Huh?" He glanced around, obviously clueless.

"Oh my God. Noel left that wide open for you to say something completely offensive. Hell, even I had something dirty swimming through my head. What is up with you?"

If anything, he frowned even harder, clearly irritated by my question. "Nothing. I'm fine."

Hmm. Something had definitely changed since more people had arrived to the party. Thinking maybe he had a thing for Noel's professor girlfriend, I glanced toward Aspen, but she was busy helping Colton heap some food onto a Styrofoam plate. That's when I caught site of Caroline darting a quick glance between us. When she caught my eye, she flushed and quickly averted her gaze. Her cheeks were still red when I lifted my eyebrows and turned back to Ten, only to find his attention on her.

Interesting. Very interesting.

I leaned closed to him. "That sister of Noel's is stunningly beautiful, isn't she?"

He snapped his gaze away from Caroline and blinked at me. "What?"

"She just has that delicate, classic look about her. Don't you think? And I love that hair. I swear, it's an even lighter blonde than mine."

He continued to scowl, his eyes only narrowing as if suddenly suspicious. "What's your point?"

I shrugged and sent him an innocent little smile. "I have no point whatsoever." Skylar squirmed in my arms, so I looked down to check on her.

As I was resituating her to hopefully make her more comfortable, Ten leaned in to whisper, "If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then stop. Right now."

I turned to study the seriousness on his face. He definitely wasn't kidding around, which only gave more credence to my suspicions.

"Hey, E.," Reese called across the drive. "You want me to hold Sky while you get your lunch or do you just want to sit there and flirt with Ten for the rest of the afternoon?"

When everyone at the party paused to glance between Ten and me, my cheeks heated. I could kill my cousin for that question. But Reese just smirked at me and winked.