Page 87 of Meant to Be

I folded my lips, to prevent the laugh that wanted to escape.

Carter, Diego, and I caught up for a few minutes until Diego headed back to one of the play rooms my mother had set up for all of the children. He demanded that we notify him the moment his cousins, Kennedy and Kyle, arrived.

“Sure thing, bud,” Carter responded, ruffling his son’s hair before he went running off. “So,” he turned to me, “Kayla, huh?”

My lips firmed into a straight line. I didn’t like the smile playing at his lips.

“She still living with you?”

“Mind your business,” I tossed back just as our father returned.

“What’s up?” Tyler’s loud ass voice interjected. He’d obviously opted to use the code to open the door. We all had keys or access codes to enter my parents’ home but rarely used them when they were there.

“Perfect timing,” Carter welcomed our youngest brother but continued to eye me.

“The party can’t start without me,” Ty added just after hugging my father. He gave Carter and I a handshake. “So, what’d I miss?”

“Nothing.”

“You haven’t been around to meet Kayla, have you?”

Carter and I both spoke up at the same time.

Tyler lifted an eyebrow at our brother. “No, I haven’t, but from what I remember she was fucking hot!”

“Tyler Joseph Townsend, I don’t give a damn how big you get, you are not too old for me to put you over my knee!” my mother chided out of nowhere.

Thank goodness for my mother’s interruption because I felt myself readying to take a swing at my kid brother. I didn’t like the mischievous glint in his eyes.

I turned to find all three women staring at us. I was sure my mother’s blue irises were burning a hole through my youngest brother’s head, but my eyes were trained on a different redhead. Instinctively, like a moth to a flame, I walked over, wrapping my arm around her waist.

“I was just kidding, Mother,” I heard Ty answer in the background.

“Hey,” I said low in Kayla’s ear as if it’d been hours since we’d seen one another instead of a handful of minutes.

“Hey. Your parents’ kitchen is insane,” she stated, eyes going wide. “The recipes I could make in there …”

“My mother’s not letting you make a damn lentil loaf in her kitchen.”

Kay’s giggle warmed every part of my insides.

“Hey, Red,” Tyler bum rushed the conversation. He extended his arms as if moving in for a hug.

“The hell do you think you’re doing?” I growled.

Tyler stood back, staring at me. “My, my. Touchy, aren’t we?”

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell my brother to fuck off, but then Kayla had to go and make things worse, by stepping out of my hold.

“Hey, Ty,” she greeted, a warm smile on her face.

“I see you haven’t forgotten the most important Townsend in the room. How’s it going, Red?” Ty questioned, pulling her in for a hug. Ty and Kayla were very familiar with one another, or at least had been. As the youngest, Ty was around when Kayla would come over or we’d hang out. He was a few years behind me in school, but he’d been at Excelor at the same time Kayla, Chelsea, and I had.

“How could I forget you, Ty?”

My brother gave me a superior look. “I always knew you had a thing for me. You know younger men are in these days. I’m just putting that out there.” He shrugged.

“Ty, I will f—”