Wrecked (Dirty Air 3)

“Fine. Nothing illegal, nothing sexual, and nothing that can make me lose my job.” She holds her hand out to me.

I grasp it, enjoying the feel of her hand in mine. “Deal.”

“I’ll be damned. This is the best shit I’ve seen in…well…forever...” Liam flicks one of the eggs on my hideous vest.

“Don’t tell Sophie that.” Noah punches Liam’s shoulder.

“Not another word about this from you guys.” I glare at them despite the lack of visibility from the large headpiece.

“I’ll be sure to hire you for my kid’s birthday one day. How much do you charge an hour?” Noah tugs on one of my ears.

“I’m retiring after this. If you want to book me, I hope you’re okay with your kiddos learning every foul word in the dictionary.”

“If my kid learns bad words from you, I didn’t do my job as a father.” Noah smiles at me.

“Look at you, having a steady girlfriend and talking about kids. Does Maya hold your balls hostage for collateral?”

“Asshole.” Noah scowls at me.

“Oh look, Elena’s bringing over another kid. Check out that little sucker holding on to her hand. I think he’s in love.” Liam bats his lashes in a dramatic way that makes me want to smack the back of his head.

Elena looks down at the kid with the most genuine smile. I’m stuck staring like a creep, enjoying how she beams at the kid before offering him a full-size candy bar. The way my chest clenches as she brushes away a tear from his face stirs up a mix of emotions nearly knocking me back a foot. Yearning sticks out to me most.

Elena walks up to us, stopping my inner dilemma. “Hi, everyone. This is my new friend Rafael. Some kids took all his eggs when he dropped his basket by accident, so I told him he could meet the best racers instead of collecting candy.”

Jesus Christ. Kids can be brutal.

Liam kneels down in front of Rafael. “Who’s your favorite racer? If it’s me, I have extra candy for you.”

Rafael shakes his head, making all of us laugh as he points at Noah.

“Of course. Everyone loves the famous Noah Slade,” I grumble low, the suit muffling my voice.

“Don’t be jealous. With the way you’re driving this season, who knows what will happen next.” Noah squats in front of Rafael. He grabs his own hat off his head and signs it before placing it on Rafael’s tiny head.

Elena points at my headpiece. “You can take that off already. I honestly only expected you to wear it for the photo op.”

“And you planned on telling me this when?”

She lets out the loudest laugh. “As soon as the egg hunt started. But once you kept it on without complaining, I couldn’t resist. I meant it when I said it was nearly impossible for me to find one of those at the last moment.”

“Damn, she got you good.” Liam gives Elena a high five.

“Payback for weeks of attitude.” She shrugs her shoulders.

“You’re such a—” I start.

“Kid!” Noah interrupts us.

Liam eyes me as he signs Rafael’s shirt. “You can only blame yourself for being such a temperamental jerk.”

“That’s fine. I got a favor out of this one.” I smile wickedly at Elena once I tug off the bunny head.

Her mouth falls open as she gazes at my friends. “It’s nothing bad or anything!”

Rafael smiles at me and gives my leg a hug. I awkwardly pat his head, unsure how to act around kids.

Liam shakes his head at Elena. “We’re not the type to judge.”