Chapter Twenty-Seven

“Let’s play SDS,” Ava suggested, breaking into Hunter’s rumination. He had no idea what she was talking about, but if it got his mind off Callie, he was all in.

“What’s that?” Nova asked.

“It’s like Screw-Marry-Kill, only it’s Stakeout-Deserted Island-Sext. So, who would you want to be on a stakeout with, a deserted island with, and sext with? At least one of them has to be with someone in this room. The other two can be whoever you want, real or fictional.”

Maverick gazed at their younger sister.

“What’s that look for?” she asked him.

“I like that you can’t say the F word out loud.”

“I can. I just choose not to,” she argued.

Hunter mentally picked Callie for all three scenarios. He could picture them on a stakeout in his truck, passing binoculars back and forth and eating peanut butter pretzels (her favorite snack, he’d learned, during one of their late night talks before falling asleep). He could picture them on a deserted island, her hair a wild mass of curls, her skin tanned, her body pressed against his every night under the stars. And he could picture sexting her, telling her what he wanted to do to her when he finally got her naked.

“Let’s do it!” Nova said.

“We definitely need a drink first. I’ll play bartender,” Andrew said, stepping around the kitchen island and opening the cupboard with the alcohol and bar glasses.

“I may need two or three,” Maverick mumbled under his breath.

Andrew assembled a few different liquor bottles, a mixing glass, and shot glasses on the counter in front of him. He filled a bowl with ice and pulled pineapple and cranberry juice out of the fridge. “It’s like you knew I was coming,” he said to Kennedy.

Hunter noticed that Callie watched everyone. She’d been observing the whole time they’d been standing here, taking it all in. He could tell from her relaxed posture and small curve of her lips that she enjoyed the conversation and busy space. She didn’t get this with her own family, which made this group special.

“Having fun?” he whispered to her.

“I am,” she whispered back, her soft voice sliding down his spine better than any drink would.

“Okay, what’s your poison, people? First up is vodka, pineapple juice, and Midori.” He stirred the ingredients and poured the drink into four shot glasses. “Next we’ve got vodka, cranberry juice, and a splash of grenadine.” He stirred and poured that mixture into another four shot glasses. “And yes, I know there are eight shots and seven of us. I’m double fisting it tonight.”

“Which one do you want?” Hunter asked Callie.

“The one with pineapple juice.”

He grabbed two of them and slid one in front of her. When everyone had a shot, Andrew counted down from three, and they all tossed one back.

“That is really good,” Callie said. She licked her bottom lip, and Hunter had to stifle a groan. “Let’s do another.”

“That’s the spirit!” Andrew poured seconds.

“Okay, back to the game. I’ll go first,” Nova said. “I would go on a stakeout with Maverick.” She smiled at him, and he smiled back, his eyes cutting to Hunter’s. She picked me, they said. Fine with me, Hunter’s eyes said back. Hunter knew she picked Mav because then she could do all the talking. “I’d like to be stuck on a deserted island with this guy I met at a bar and that’s all I’m going to say about it. And I’d like to sext with The Rock. I feel like he’d have a lot to say.”

“What guy?” he, Maverick, Callie, and Kennedy all said at the same time.

“Who’s next?” Nova lifted her chin with an air of smugness. She would not be elaborating. Hunter wondered if the guy was who she’d secretly been texting with earlier on the couch. Weird, though, that Callie apparently didn’t know about him, either. The two of them shared everything.

The timer on the oven dinged. Kennedy pulled out the pizzas and put another batch in. Looked like they were group sharing. Maverick placed some ready-made salads within reach.

“Callie, you go next,” Nova said.

“Okay. I’d go on a stakeout with Vera Wang. Be stranded on a desert island with Baby Yoda. And sext with…oh crap, can I backtrack? I have to pick one of you now.”

“No backtracking,” Ava said.

Hunter forced himself not to look at Callie. No way would she pick Maverick. And he didn’t think she’d pick any of the girls. That left him and Andrew, and if she picked Andrew, he’d be supremely disappointed.

“Fine. Hunter.” She said it like she was settling and never in a million years would it happen. Huh. Sounded a little too nonchalant and convenient to him. Maybe she wanted everyone to believe she’d messed up so when she did say his name with sexting, no one would give it a second thought. The other, more obvious clue that she’d planned to pick him? The blush to her cheeks she tried to hide by taking a bite of pizza.

“Ow,” she said, followed by a string of words he couldn’t understand because it seemed her tongue had grown five sizes too big for her mouth. “Hawwt.”

Kennedy quickly handed her a bottle of water.

“I’ll go next,” Hunter said, waiting until Callie appeared okay. “I’d go on a stakeout with James Bond because he is the greatest secret agent of all time. Be stuck on a desert island with Dolly Parton so I could listen to her sing. Get your minds out of the gutter, people. And for sexting, I can’t leave Callie partnerless so will sext with her.” That sounded casual enough. He hoped.

“Is this a love connection happening right before my eyes?” Andrew asked, looking between him and Callie with interest.

Maverick raised his eyebrows.

Hunter put his arm playfully around Callie. “I should be so lucky, but we’re just playing the game.”

Callie giggled. From nerves or relief, he didn’t know. What he did know was whenever he and Callie were near each other, he had trouble forgetting how much he wanted her and not whoever waited for him after the wedding.