Page 59 of Playing for Keeps

“That’s why I had a kid,” I said. “To get to do all the fun kid stuff again.”

It was a common joke among parents, the idea that we’d had kids to get to re-live our own childhood. But shit. The circumstances around me becoming a parent weren’t exactly something I wanted to remind Luke of.

Actually, Luke, as you well know, the reason I had a kid was because I slept with your sister. Which makes the fact I’m now crushing on you even more disturbing.

Luke blinked, looking away from me. “I’ll check if Jonathan is free. He’d love to go to the zoo.”

“Cool.”

What could I say?Please leave Jonathan behind because I want to spend time with just you?

It was ridiculous, especially given Luke and I saw each other all the time.

Jacob and his boyfriend Austin ambled over to us.

“Hey, Jacob,” Luke said easily.

“Hey, Luke, have you met my boyfriend, Austin?”

“No, we haven’t met. Nice to meet you.” Luke shook Austin’s hand.

Jacob turned to introduce me, but I jumped in. “I’ve already met Austin. Remember, when you used us as a free moving service?”

Last year Jacob had roped me and a bunch of guys into helping move Austin’s grandmother into a rest home.

“Oh, that’s right.”

But then I remembered the last time I’d seen Austin. He’d been distraught because his grandmother had gone missing from the rest home, and I’d helped search for her. So I asked after her, and Austin gave me a quick update on her recovery.

“I’m still trying to grasp the idea that you were brave enough to use Ethan as your moving crew,” Luke said to Jacob. “Did he not tell you what happened when he was twelve and decided to rearrange his mother’s living room as a surprise and broke her favorite vase?”

“No, he left that one off his resume,” Jacob said.

I flicked a grin at Luke. “This is the problem hanging out with someone who’s known me since I was a kid. I don’t have any secrets.”

“Oh, I don’t know if anyone can pretend to know all of your secrets,” Luke said, light-heartedly—but was there an extra level of meaning in his words?

My chest tightened. Crap. Had he figured out my non-platonic feelings for him? Because that was the one secret I was currently keeping from Luke. And it was a biggie.

I stared at the ground, trying to compose myself as the silence ticked on. Shit. “Yeah, you’re right,” I finally managed, trying to get my voice into the normal zone. “I’m a man of mystery.”

Jacob cuffed me on my shoulder. “You keep telling yourself that.”

Luke gave me a perplexed look, so maybe his comment hadn’t been layered with meaning.

I was really starting to lose the plot.

Jacob, Austin and Luke continued to talk, with me making minor contributions, until it was time to return to the marquee for dinner.

Luke hung back as Jacob and Austin rounded up Jacob’s twins.

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked me. “You’re being really quiet.”

“Must be all the country air,” I said.

Luke grinned. “If country air has the ability to muffle you, then I might have to take some back with me.”

“You could manufacture some of your own,” I suggested. “Pretty sure it’s just a mixture of grass and manure.”