“I have talents, Vic.” She grinned at him and tried to look innocent.
“Whatever. Move out the way.” He rolled his shoulders and got ready for his turn. He managed to hit two of the three which was respectable for a guy who was fighting a hard-on for the woman standing next to him.
Two of three meant…
“Looks like you owe me a new kitchen.” Tachina jumped up and down, celebrating. She ran over to her cousins for hugs.
He grinned and laughed at her antics. She pushed away and came back over to him. She held out her hand for a shake. He took her smaller one in his while a grin lingered on his lips.
“Well played, Mr. Maxwell.”
“I’ll build you the best damn kitchen you could ever dream up.” Which was saying much, since she was a designer. He was sure she had already drawn up specs and had everything in mind on what she wanted.
Her smile faltered, and something shifted between them. She pushed his shoulder playfully and slipped her hand out of his.
“Don’t be trying to flirt your way out of losing,” she teased.
“I wasn’t flirting,” he huffed.
“Liar.”
They stared at each other. He didn’t care that her family was close by and paying attention to the two of them. He ached to pull her to him and kiss her, but he knew that wouldn’t be appropriate at the moment.
“Vic! We need you for photos!” Logan called out.
Vic turned around and raised a hand to acknowledge his brother.
“I gotta go,” he said.
“Vic, wait.” Tachina slid next to him and walked a short distance with him. “Are you sure you want to pay for mykitchen renovation? That seems a bit much for just a childish game.”
“Tachina, what don’t you get? I have been trying to do things for you ever since Kian was born. This is the first time you have ever accepted anything from me that didn’t pertain to Kian.” He paused and turned to face her.
She swallowed hard and shrugged. “I don’t want you to think I’m using you. I think most of your family already thinks that?—”
“No one does, and if they ever make you feel that way, tell me and I’ll straighten them out.” His jaw tightened. That couldn’t be the farthest thing from the truth. The woman wouldn’t even allow him to increase the child support payments he sent to her monthly. He stared at her because there was more he wanted to say, but he held back.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
He glanced over at Kian who was standing with his parents. There was a professional photographer hired for the party to capture highlights. He turned back to her, needing to get something off his chest. It had been bothering him for a while now, and he just needed to know.
“About that date…your friend, Charles. You planning a second date?”
Her eyes widened at the question. She gave him a playful, skeptical look.
“Are you asking because you care or because you are being nosey?”
“Just want to know. Since we made the agreement and all,” he said.
Her features softened, and she smiled. “It was just a date. A plus-one to an event.”
“It didn’t look like just a plus-one?” He bit back a grimace. Now he sounded like a young teen boy questioning his school crush, not the forty-two-year-old man he was.
“You were jealous!” She stepped closer to him. Her smile widened into a full grin.
“I wasn’t jealous.”
“Liar.”