One More Time (Ruby Falls #2) - Aurora Rose Reynolds Page 0,38

that?”

“What?” I dig my nails into my palms as my stomach knots with jealousy.

“Fight for a man they have never fought for in the past, when they know that man is moving on?” She turns to look at me. “Colton’s ex did the same thing, and I just don’t get it.”

“Maybe they realize what they’re going to miss out on.”

“Or maybe—” She covers Gino’s ears. “—they are just assholes.”

“Maybe.” I can’t help but smile.

“Babe.” Tide’s deep voice startles me, and I tip my head back to look up at him as he comes to stand in front of me with Olivia at his side. “Olivia is gonna head home with her mom.”

“Oh.” I try to hide my disappointment as he holds out his hand to help me stand. “Is everything okay?”

“Fine. Anna was in the area and thought she’d save us the trip of driving her home and just stop by here to pick her up.”

A million things are on the tip of my tongue to say, but I hold them in, knowing they won’t help right now. And judging by the twitching of his jaw, they will only make things worse. Looking down at Olivia, I take her hand. “I had so much fun with you.”

“Me too.” She looks over her shoulder, and I glance that way, seeing Anna standing at the top of the stairs with her arms crossed over her chest, glaring at Colton, who seems to be blocking her way. “Your balloons and gift are in your dad’s truck. Do you want to take them with you?”

“I’ll give them to her when I walk them out,” Tide cuts in, squeezing my hand.

Right. I focus on Olivia. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye, Aria.” She gives me a quick hug around my hips, and before I can hug her back she runs off to her mom. I tip my head back to look at her dad, sure that he’s pissed, and surer there isn’t anything I can do about it.

“I’ll wait here with Gia.”

“Be back in a minute.” He dips down to brush his lips against mine, then heads up the stairs ignoring whatever it is that Anna is saying instead focusing on Olivia. I watch them go and then help Gia buckle Gino into his carrier and load up the diaper bag. After we return our shoes, we head to the front of the bowling alley to wait for the guys and end up spotting a sparkly blue unicorn hanging on the wall in the arcade that we agree Gino needs. When we see that we only need five hundred tickets, we try our luck at Kill the Toad or whatever it’s called. You would think that two grown women would be good at knocking out some object when it pops out of a hole, but as Gia and I lose game after game, we learn quickly that’s not true. With each of us taking turns holding Gino, who is mesmerized by the lights and music, we toss our money into the machine, becoming more determined every time we lose. Even when Tide and Colton come back in and find us, we don’t give up.

“Are you and Gia gonna need rehab for this new habit?” Tide asks against my ear while wrapping his arms around my waist, causing me to shiver and miss one of the toads when it pops up, and I end up losing the game.

“You made me lose out on one hundred tickets,” I complain, and he smirks at me as he takes the bopper from my hand, then he feeds ten dollars into the slot.

“Stand back and watch the master.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I watch him play and lose in just a couple minutes, which shouldn’t make me happy but it does.

“Wow.” I clap. “That was amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything more impressive. You really are the master.” I laugh as he wraps his arms around me and dips me backward, nibbling my neck and making me giggle.

“Let me try,” Colton says, and I smile at Gia when he puts in a twenty-dollar bill and she rolls her eyes. “How much cash did you two put in this thing before we came in?” Colton asks when he loses six times in a row.

“Probably twenty dollars, maybe a little more.” I shrug.

“So we’ve put in fifty dollars trying to win a stuffed animal that probably costs one dollar to make?” He shakes his head. “I should see if they’d just