“Hey, let’s get this game going!” Jules yells from our lane and we join them.
Natalie and Jules pull me into big hugs. I’m so excited to see them. I’ve really missed them over the past few years.
“Hey, guys.” Will shakes hands with his brothers, kisses the girls on the cheek and puts his shoes on.
“Hey, Meg, how are you?” Stacy asks from her chair by the ball chute. Will wasn’t kidding when he said she’s incredibly pregnant.
“I’m good, thanks. How are you feeling, little mama?”
Stacy laughs and rubs her belly. “Oh! He’s kicking! Here.” She grabs my hand, jerks me down to squat in front of her and lays my hand over her belly, and sure enough, the baby is pushing against my palm.
“He’s a strong little sucker.” I smile up at her and she chuckles.
“My ribs would agree. He’s going to be a soccer player.”
“Football,” all of the men correct her at once and we laugh.
“I’m Brynna,” a pretty, brown-haired woman with the darkest eyes I’ve ever seen smiles at me from her seat next to Stacy. “We met at the party, but I didn’t really get to talk to you.”
“Hi, Brynna. Meg.” I shake her hand and stand.
“Really? We just got here. God, you guys!” Jules exclaims. Nat and Luke are making out, again.
“Ignore them,” Nate murmurs in her ear and Jules grins up at him. Wow, she loves him. The Jules I used to know never would have looked at a man like that.
Of course, Nate is a fine specimen of man. That tattoo he’s sporting on his right arm is bad-ass.
“Stop ogling my soon-to-be brother-in-law,” Will growls in my ear.
“I’m not. I’m appreciating the art on his arm.”
“Speaking of art, what song is that on your arm, Meg?” Matt asks, referring to the tattoo on my inner bicep.
“Oh, just a song,” I wave him off, and search my head for a conversation changer. I’d rather not discuss the song, or what it means to me.
Not yet.
“Okay, c’mere, sweetheart, I’ll show you how to throw the ball.”
“Oh, you don’t have to…” Jules starts but I shake my head at her, halting her. She smiles sweetly at her brother. “You don’t have to wait. Go ahead and show her.”
“Are you the man for the job?” I ask him sarcastically.
“I know my way around balls, babe,” he winks at me and all the guys snicker. “I work with balls for a living.”
“Oh dear God, please don’t talk about your balls all night. I’ll be sick.” Jules scowls at him and Will smirks.
Will chooses a ball and backs up onto the lane, crooking his finger at me with a knowing smile on his sexy lips.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re here to show me how to handle the balls,” I announce sarcastically, earning laughter from our friends.
“Come on, smart ass.” I step up to him and he folds his large body behind me, wraps his arms around mine and places the ball in my hands. To torture him, just a little, I wiggle my butt against him and lean into him. He growls low in his throat and swears under his breath before he begins his instructions. “You have to be gentle with the ball. Respect the ball. Visualize in your head where you want the ball to land.”
I giggle-snort and feel him scowl.
“Pay attention.”
I clear my throat. “Sorry.”
“Do you want to give it a try?” he asks.
“Sure.”
“Okay, good luck.”
He pats my ass and moves back and I have to bite my lip to keep from breaking down into hysterics. Taking my usual stance, I line the ball up with the arrow that will drive it home, take one, two, three steps and then roll the ball down the lane. It quickly moves over the arrow I aimed for and straight for the head pin and crash! Strike!
“Yes!” I clap my hands and turn around to applause and Will looking stupefied.
“You played me.”
“You’ll live.” I shrug and wrap my arms around him to hug him.
“You bowl?” he asks.
“She is a crazy-good bowler. We used to go all the time back in the day.” Natalie tells him and I smile smugly.
“Why didn’t you say?” he asks.
“And spoil the fun of you showing me how to handle the balls? Never.”
Will’s eyes narrow and he glares down at me and I can’t help the wide smile on my face. Have I ever enjoyed tormenting someone so much? No, I don’t believe I have.
He leans in and whispers in my ear, “You’re going to pay for that later.”
“I can’t wait.” I respond and sashay past him to join the girls.
Caleb is up next and crashes all the pins into a strike. Jeez, he’s so muscular and, well, a little scary. He’s Will’s Navy SEAL brother, and he’s just as big as his brothers; tall, broad, muscular.
I’m surrounded by a whole lot of hotness. If I wasn’t me, I’d be jealous of me.
That makes me chuckle to myself.
“What are you laughing at?” Luke asks me. He has kind eyes. I never noticed that before. Luke Williams is super-hot, and very sweet. And completely in love with his wife and daughter.
“Nothing, just wondering how I got here.”
He smiles knowingly.