“You got it, Sarge.”
Her mouth dropped in surprise, but he saw the spark of admiration there, too. She should have expected it. He’d never turned down that offer from her yet and wasn’t starting now.
“Going over,” he informed Landon, but Landon was already pulling his T-shirt off.
“Race you to the bottom.” Landon put a foot on the railing.
Asher tugged his shirt off next and the two of them climbed over the railing and threw themselves over. He came up for air to find Landon already slicing through the water to Kimber.
“You lost,” Evan pointed out.
“Depends,” Asher said as he cut through the water to Gloria. He wrapped his arms around her and collected his reward.
“You’re crazy!” she told him after a kiss that ended too soon.
“Crazy!” Hawk parroted.
“That’s ‘Daddy’ to you, kid,” he joked.
“Daddy!” Hawk repeated.
Yeah, Landon may have won the race to the water, but it was Asher who won the day.
*
“Thank you so much for inviting us.” Kimber shouldered her bag. “I think the hotel is calling our name.”
“I wish my place was bigger. I totally would have asked you to stay with me.”
“No, you wouldn’t have,” Kimber said with a laugh. True. Glo didn’t let many people into her personal space. Kimber was an exception to that rule.
“But I would like to be the kind of person who would have offered,” Glo amended.
“You don’t want any part of this when he wakes up at six a.m., honey, trust me.” Kimber gestured to Caleb, currently in Landon’s arms, his head on his father’s shoulder, snoozing soundly.
“Yeah. Save yourself.” Landon winked behind his glasses, and Gloria smiled up at him.
“Thanks for bringing the entire family.” She hugged him, careful not to wake Caleb, and then embraced Kimber. When Landon started for the car, Glo pulled Kimber’s arm to keep her from going. Evan and family had already gone home, and Asher was inside with Hawk.
“You promise to keep me sane?” she asked her friend, taking advantage of their alone time.
Kimber hugged her again. “I know you, Gloria Renee Shields. I know you better than you know yourself some days. You feel like you’re losing ground by giving in, but the only way to trust him is going to require you giving in to him every once in a while. Take it from this old, married lady. The secret is—”
“Don’t you dare say compromise.”
“I was going to say fantastic sex.” Her red brows arched, her expression so sincere, Gloria held her stomach and laughed.
“Seriously, though.” Kimber blinked bright, green eyes. “No matter what hardships occur, you keep it hot in the sack and you’ll end up A-okay.”
“This is why I love you.”
“Well, duh.” With a wink and a wave as she walked away, Kimber headed around the deck to the driveway. Gloria stood outside until they pulled away, arms crossed, teeth on her bottom lip.
Through the windows at the back of Asher’s house, she watched him move away from a sleeping Hawk, stroking the boy’s hair gently and picking up Tank when he tried to jump on the couch. Dog in his arms, he came outside and Gloria let the moment freeze while she thought about how perfect this setting was.
The house she’d dreamed of living in. Asher. Hawk. Tank. What if this was her destiny? Being a part of something permanent and lasting and deeper than she’d ever experienced in her life…Could she accept that, as big and scary as it was?
“I hate to wake him up, but I promised to have him home by nine.” Asher put Tank down, who trotted off the deck and to the grass to do his business.
Asher palmed her jaw, lowering his lips to hers. She lifted an arm and held him, kissing him gently, and then not so gently when his tongue pushed past her lips. They made out for a few minutes until a surge of heat infused her every last nerve ending. He pulled away and gave her a wicked smile.
“Don’t leave,” he said.
“Unfair,” she breathed. How was she supposed to leave after the promise that kiss held?
His cell rang and the fire in his eyes flickered.
He answered his phone with, “Yeah.” A pause. “That works. See you in a minute.” He ended the call and thumbed Gloria’s chin, his eyes going to her lips. “Change of plans,” he said. “Emily was out this way, so she’s picking up Hawk.”
“She’s very involved in his life.”
“More involved than his mother.” He turned to check on his son, still zonked out. “Had a run-in with her today.” He shook his head. “She didn’t want Hawk to hang with you.”
Gloria bit her lip. Probably because she’d put Jordan in her place at the party. Which was not Gloria’s job no matter how justified her reasoning.
“My fault,” she admitted.
“No one’s fault, Glo. This is the deal. But I need you to do me a favor.”
Gloria cringed.
He only chuckled. “Just go out and say hi to Emily when she gets here. Show her what a class act you are.”
“Asher…”