Evers & Afters (Dare With Me #2) - J.H. Croix Page 0,63

maybe, Cammi would be there again. She wasn’t. The man who gave me the massage did a great job, but he was no Cammi. I was on my way to yoga now because Flynn asked us to go again. I didn’t mind, but it was fucking hysterical that Daphne had persuaded him to keep going to yoga classes.

Once again, I couldn’t help but be hopeful that perhaps Cammi would be there. No such luck. The yoga class was good, and I got to enjoy the sideshow of Diego struggling not to ogle the yoga teacher.

“Dude,” I whispered where I stood beside him. “She said to look forward.”

“Fuck you,” he muttered under his breath.

“I don’t think that’s very fitting right now,” I countered.

“Everything okay over here?” Gemma asked when she paused beside Diego.

“Yeah, Diego just had a question about the posture,” I offered. I couldn’t resist giving him a little hell.

Actually, maybe it was a favor. Because then Gemma helped him adjust into the posture in question. After class, we all headed back to the resort. It was a card night. Perhaps that wasn’t the best fit after yoga, but it was always good to chill out with my friends.

After a dinner that involved some kind of coconut Thai curry that Daphne whipped up, we decamped to the private apartment Flynn shared with Daphne and Cat.

“Where’s Cat?” I asked as I flopped down on one side of their sectional sofa.

“She’s spending the night with a friend,” Daphne called over. Diego sat down at an angle near me and Gabriel on the other end of the sectional. We were all beat this evening. It had been a busy few days of flying.

Flynn walked into the kitchen area, stopping beside Daphne to drop a kiss on the side of her neck. She smiled up at him. “I made you guys fresh brownies.”

“Sweet!” Diego called as he pumped his fist in the air.

“Please tell me there’s vanilla ice cream to go with them,” Tucker said as he sat down.

“Absolutely.”

“Did you make that too?” Tucker added dryly.

Daphne crossed over to rest her hands on her hips as she surveyed us where she stood by the coffee table. “I could, but I didn’t have time.”

“Where are you headed?” Flynn asked as she stepped into her clogs by the door.

Daphne glanced back. “Y’all are having your boys’ card night, so I’m going over to Nora’s cabin. We’re gonna have a girls’ night. We need more girls.”

“My sister’s coming next summer,” Tucker called.

“Awesome. That’ll make three of us, and there’s still six of you,” she said just as Grant stepped through the door.

“Six of who?” he asked.

“Boys who call themselves men,” Daphne teased. “All right, I’m outta here. Have fun.” She slipped through the door with a wave at the room in general.

Not much later, the entire pan of brownies and the entire gallon of ice cream were gone. In our defense, there were six full-grown men.

I leaned back in the corner of the sectional, resting my leg on it and experimentally rotating my foot.

“How’s it feel?” Diego asked from my side.

“Decent. I’ll take it. I don’t think I’ll ever be one hundred percent. When I get old, I’ll probably be able to gauge whether or not it’s gonna rain by this ankle, but it works.”

Diego chuckled as he set down his cards. “Any word?” he asked

“Word about what?” Grant chimed in from where he sat organizing his hand of cards.

I sighed. “You haven’t heard yet?”

“Heard what? I’ve been up in Anchorage for the last four days.”

“My ex showed up, and I had to do a paternity test. Don’t worry, there’s no chance I’m the father. It’s not official yet though,” I added when Grant’s eyes went comically wide.

“Not to sound stupid, but if there’s no chance you’re the father, why the hell did you have to do a paternity test? And what are you actually talking about?”

Flynn chuckled from where he sat beside Grant. Grant didn’t even know me when I’d been seeing Sandra.

“It’s old news. I needed to do the paternity test because the actual father died, but his family is disputing paternity because they don’t want her to get his survivor benefits. They claim I’m the father, and I’m not.”

Grant only looked more confused. I felt compelled to explain further. “It’s complicated. She was screwing around on me, I broke up with her, but she was already pregnant with the other guy’s kid when all that went down. That’s all.”

Grant took a long drag from