Page 91 of Wild Promise

Music pumped from speakers someone had set up in the living room. People filled every corner—family, friends, neighbors, a few faces I didn’t recognize. The dining room table was buried under trays of food, and the kitchen counter had been converted into a bar that could’ve given The Summit a run for its money.

Kids were everywhere. Hunter nearly bowled me over as he tore through the hallway after Brooklyn, who was shrieking with laughter and clutching a stolen party hat. At seventeen, he was too old to be chasing his younger siblings, but that had clearly never stopped him. Mia toddled behind them, determined not to be left out.

“Welcome to the chaos,” Eric said, appearing from the kitchen with a drink in each hand. He passed one to Melina with a grin. “You’ll need this.”

“Thanks.” Melina took the glass and glanced around the room with wide eyes. “This is…a lot.”

“You should see Christmas,” Eric said. “This is the restrained version.”

Jamie appeared behind him, scooping Mia up before she could follow her siblings into the living room. “Melina. So nice to finally meet you.” She balanced the toddler on her hip with the practiced ease of a woman who’d done it a thousand times. “Come with me. I need adult conversation before I lose what’s left of my mind.”

Melina shot me a look—half nervous, half amused—and I squeezed her hand before letting her go. “You’ll be fine. Jamie doesn’t bite.”

“Much,” Jamie added, already steering Melina toward the couch.

I watched them go, and something settled in my chest. Melina was here. In this house, with these people, being pulled into a conversation by a woman who’d decided on the spot that they were going to be friends.

She fit. Just like that. Like I’d always known she would.

“You going to stand there all night, or are you going to come say hello?” Dylan’s voice came from somewhere to my left.

I turned to find him leaning against the wall near the front window, a beer in hand, Chantel tucked under his arm. They made a striking pair—him all sharp jaw and quiet intensity, her all dark hair and effortless grace. Whatever arrangement they had going on was none of my business, but it clearly worked. I’d never seen him look this relaxed.

“Hey, man.” I clapped him on the shoulder. “Good to see you.”

“You too. Heard you’ve had an interesting month.”

“That’s one word for it.”

Chantel smiled. “Congratulations on the resort. And on Melina. She seems lovely.”

“She is.” I couldn’t help the grin. “She’s also terrifying. But in the best way.”

Dylan snorted. “The good ones always are.”

I made my way through the crowd, stopping to say hello to Marc, who was deep in conversation with one of Glenn’s colleagues, and Celeste, who was holding baby Logan on her lap and somehow making it look elegant. The kid had a fistful of her necklace, and she didn’t seem to mind in the slightest.

“Zane!” Caleb’s voice cut through the noise, and I turned to see my youngest cousin pushing through the crowd with Hope cradled against his chest. She was wide-eyed, chubby, and wearing a onesie that said My First New Year’s in glittery letters. Zadie followed behind him, looking tired, beautiful, and completely unbothered by the chaos.

“Come hold your cousin,” Caleb said.

“She’s not?—”

“Just take the baby.”

He deposited Hope into my arms before I could argue, and the weight of her settled against my chest. She blinked up at me with an expression that was one hundred percent Zadie, then immediately grabbed a fistful of my shirt and held on.

“She likes you.” Zadie smiled.

“Everyone likes me,” I said, but my voice came out rougher than I’d intended because the baby in my arms was doing something strange to my chest. Something warm, unfamiliar, and completely fucking terrifying.

Melina appeared at my side, and the look on her face when she saw me holding Hope nearly took me out. Her eyes went wide and soft, then dangerously shiny.

“Don’t,” I warned.

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t look at me like that while I’m holding a baby. It’s not fair.”