Page 109 of Deacon

Raina answered without pretending the situation was something prettier than it was. “He doesn’t take her seriously. She’s not someone he builds anything with. More like a habit when he wants one.”

Evan leaned back as though the explanation had no place to land. “Sounds like his business.”

Raina studied him briefly, then let the subject go. I did the same because Evan would only retreat farther if I pushed him in front of strangers.

Conversation gathered around us again. Tessa asked how long we had been in Bay of Saints, and Evan needled Blue about whether Priest planned to let her have opinions about her own wedding. I tried to stay present, but my eyes kept finding Jade at the pool table.

Tessa caught me at it. “So,” she said, easy as anything, “your daughter’s Deacon’s, huh?”

I turned toward her so fast my neck protested. “What?”

Raina lifted both hands, smiling. “No judgment. Promise. Word just gets around in places like this.”

Tessa nodded. “And Deacon’s pretty proud that he has such an amazing daughter, so he hasn’t exactly been quiet about it.”

Heat rushed into my face before I could stop it. “He’s been talking about it?”

Raina’s mouth curved. “Not in some weird way. More in a finally got hit in the chest with fatherhood and liked it sort of way.”

Tessa tipped her chin toward the pool tables. “The way she couldn’t wait to get over there to him, and the way he is with her once she did, made it pretty obvious anyway.”

I looked back despite myself. Jade leaned against the table laughing at something Cage said while Jackson stood beside her, cue in one hand, attention split between the game and his daughter. The sight still carried a sharp edge of grief for everything both of them had missed, but there was something good underneath it now too. They had today. They could have tomorrow.

When I turned back, Tessa and Raina were both watching me with entirely too much interest. Raina smiled. “Looks like he definitely still has a thing for you, Mom.”

Tessa snorted softly, and I shook my head before either woman could build a story out of one wink. “No, there isn’t anything going on with us. That was over a long time ago when he left. Right now this is just about him and Jade getting to know each other and building a relationship.”

They exchanged the exact same amused look before Tessa settled back into the cushions. “Someone better tell him that.”

Raina nodded toward the pool table. “And that look he keeps giving you. Because, honey, that look says I’m ready to devour you the minute you let your walls down.”

Blue choked on a laugh, and Evan came back to life just enough to betray me. “That is exactly the look.”

I glared at all of them, already regretting ever letting Evan meet people who encouraged him. “That is not a look,” I said sharply.

Raina laughed. “Please.”

Tessa’s mouth curved. “And your eyes are not exactly saying stay away, either.”

Raina giggled. “No. Yours say come and get me, big guy.”

My face heated even more. “That is absolutely not what is being said between us.”

Blue, Evan, Tessa, and Raina exchanged one deeply unconvinced look before chorusing, “Sure.”

Traitors. Every last one of them.

Betrayal deserved dignity. Unfortunately, mine vanished the second I looked back toward the pool table on reflex. Jackson’s head came up as if he had felt it. His mouth curled slowly before he gave me another smoldering smile and wink.

Nobody on the couch said a word for one glorious beat before Evan made a tiny delighted sound beside me. I turned back around with whatever dignity remained.

Priest joined us a few minutes later, settling beside Blue with the easy certainty of a man who never questioned where he belonged. His arm stretched along the couch behind her, and the way Blue softened into his space carried more intimacy than any public display could have.

Little Jax started fussing in her arms, restless little sounds building toward a cry. Blue shifted him against her. “He’s ready for a bottle,” she said, already preparing to stand.

Evan rose first. “Sit down. I’ll get it.”

Blue looked up at him. “You don’t have to do that.”