Play Along(49)

“Hey,” a woman says from the other side of the rope, facing me. “I’m Lacey.”

The music is soft, so I don’t have to scream to be heard the way I typically do when Cody drags us to a nightclub. “Nice to meet you, Lacey.”

I can feel both Kai and Cody watching me out of my periphery, stupid knowing smiles on their faces because we’re all aware this is the first time I’ve gotten hit on since I’ve been married.

“You’ve been on this couch all night. I’ve been waiting for you to come out on the dance floor.”

“What can I say? This couch is exceptionally comfortable.”

She giggles. “Would you please come dance with me?”

My brows shoot up. I don’t know why, but I didn’t expect her to be so direct. I’ve perfected the art of indirect letdowns over the past nine months, and now she’s not giving me the chance to do this subtly.

That’s all right though. I’ve got a black metal band on my finger that’s anything but subtle.

I hold my left hand up to show her. “I’ve already got a dance partner. Sorry, Lacey.”

I’m not sorry about it one bit.

Glancing over her shoulder, back into the crowd, I find Kennedy staring at me and my displayed hand from the dance floor.

I shoot my wife a wink, but she quickly averts her attention back to Miller.

Lacey turns to Kai, and he holds both hands up in surrender, refusing to make eye contact. “I may as well be wearing one of those things.” He nods towards my ring. “And you should probably stop looking at me. My fiancée is kind of scary when she gets jealous.”

She then tries her luck again, turning towards Cody. “Fuck it,” he says, standing from the couch. “Third time’s a charm, huh, Lacey?”

With that, he follows her out to the dance floor.

“You’re fucked,” Kai mutters next to me.

“Shut up. So are you.”

“Yeah, well the difference is that Miller is equally as fucked. Kennedy, on the other hand, is out there planning a move to San Francisco and thinking about all the dudes she’s going to date after she divorces you.”

“She’s not going to be dating anybody. I just need the next few months to inform her of that.”

“You hopeless little shit.” Kai throws his arm over my shoulder. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

“Hey, I need to tell you something, but I can’t really talk about it too much or I’m going to start crying, and I’m not trying to cry in the club tonight.”

I turn to face him, noting the serious tone in his voice and the soft smile on his lips.

“Miller and I are talking about trying for a second.”

“Yeah?” The excitement is evident in my tone.

“Yeah, but um . . .” He clears his throat, the emotion evident. “She’s uh . . . she’s worried about how that’ll make Max feel to have another, and for that one to be biologically hers. She doesn’t want him to grow up feeling like he wasn’t enough or that she needed her own when Max is hers too, you know?”

I could understand that. Max will one day learn that Miller is not his birth mom. But he’ll also learn that though his biological mom didn’t want to be a mother, Miller couldn’t live her life without him.

“Before we start trying, Miller wants to become his mom. Legally, I mean. I just wanted to let you know that Ashley gave up all parental rights and we’re going through the paperwork for Miller to adopt Max.”

My eyes immediately burn. Fuck, I love that kid. I also love that he has the two best parents in the world that want nothing more than to make sure he knows how cherished and chosen he is.

“He’s lucky, you know. To have you two, but yeah, you’re right.” I clear my throat, sounding equally as choked up as him. “We can’t keep talking about this here.”

Kai swallows down a swig of his beer and I concentrate on fixing my shirt that doesn’t need fixing.

Thankfully, Travis interrupts the moment. “This guy just tried to dance with Miller, and she told him that if he touches her again, she’s going to knee him in the balls.”

A smile spreads on Kai’s face. “That’s my girl.”

Standing from the couch, he makes his way out to the dark dance floor, but thanks to his height, I’m able to follow him with my eyes. I watch as he finds Miller and snakes a possessive arm around her. I also watch as Cody hands Kennedy a shot and begs her to take it with him. There’s a lime on the rim so I can only assume it’s the same liquor that convinced her it was a good idea to marry me.

She grimaces as it goes down her throat, so I guess the good news is at least she’s not at the point where she thinks it’s water.

The vocals of the lead singer are slow and sensual. The music is smooth and romantic. I could sit here all night, watching Kennedy slowly sway to the rhythm while wearing those tight leather pants and a sweater that’s short and cropped. Her arms and legs are fully covered, including the heeled boots she’s got on, but that sliver of freckled skin peeking out above her belly button every time she moves has been tempting me all fucking night.

And just as I’m staring at her waist, watching the way it moves to the music, a hand that’s not hers or mine slides against her pale stomach, fingers splaying wide over her entire midsection.