Risky (Adventures in Love 2)

“Your sister just called to let me know that Everly and Sampson are coming to dinner. Do you know if Sammy is allergic to anything?”

“I’m not sure Everly is coming to dinner, and it’s Sampson, not Sammy, Mom,” I say, and Everly’s head spins around, her wide eyes locking on mine.

“Well, can you call her and ask? I would, but I don’t have her cell number, which is ridiculous, since I should have it, and she should have mine.”

“Mom wants to know if you’re coming to dinner and, if you are, if Sampson is allergic to anything,” I say, and both she and Mom gasp at the same time.

“You’re with her right now?” Mom asks, sounding a mixture of surprised and happy.

“Yeah,” I state simply, watching Everly closely, trying to read what’s going on in her head right now.

“Umm . . .” She clears her throat after I raise one brow. “Sam isn’t allergic to anything that I know of, and dinner sounds good, if you’re sure we won’t be imposing.”

“Of course she won’t be imposing,” Mom practically shouts in my ear as Everly holds my gaze captive. “Tell her that and that she’s welcome anytime.”

“You can tell her tomorrow, Mom. Love you. I’ll talk to you later.”

“But wait, I—” she sputters as I pull the phone from my ear and hang up the call.

“My mom’s excited about dinner.”

“Me too.” She bites her bottom lip, then asks, “Are you sure it’s okay I come?”

“I already told you it was, babe,” I assure her, and she nods once, then turns back to Sampson to help him finish eating. When he’s done, she makes him a bottle, then unhooks him from his chair. “I’m going to take him up to give him a bath and get him to sleep,” she says as he rests his head against her chest. “I shouldn’t be long, if you just want to hang down here and watch TV or something.”

“I’m good with that,” I say, then go to the living room while she heads upstairs. With a little time on my hands, I send out a few texts, then figure I should check the email, but when I open it up, I find everything up to date. I will never admit it to Tanner or Mav, but hiring Everly to work in the office was the smartest thing they ever did. Not only is she great at her job, but she’s also brought a lot of great ideas.

“What’s that smile for?” Everly asks, coming into the living room, and I set my phone aside to watch her walk toward me, now dressed in a pair of leggings and an oversize long-sleeved T-shirt.

“Nothing.” I glance at the baby monitor in her hand. “Is he sleeping?”

“Yes.” She laughs. “He started falling asleep the minute I got him in the bath, so I just got him out and dressed, fed him half his bottle, and then laid him down.”

“He had a busy day.”

“He had a great day.” She takes a seat next to me on the couch and smiles. “He’s obsessed with you.”

“The feeling is mutual. He’s a cute kid.”

“He’s the best,” she agrees, then pushes up off the couch when the doorbell rings.

“I got the door,” I tell her, figuring it’s the pizza, and she nods.

“Do you want a beer or something?”

“I’m good with a beer if you got one.” I see her head into the kitchen, and I walk to the front door. After giving the kid who dropped off our food a tip, I take it back to the kitchen and notice her with her cell phone in her hand and a frown on her face as she looks at the screen. “Everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah.” She drops the phone facedown on the counter and turns to look at me. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.” Not wanting to call her out for lying, nor piss her off, I set the bags on the table. “Do you feel like watching a movie while we eat?” She moves around the kitchen, avoiding my gaze. “My parents have about every subscription service there is, so I’m sure we can find something to watch.”

“That sounds good to me,” I tell her, and she nods before handing me a plate and getting one for herself.

After we each have our food, we settle in the living room and end up watching some documentary about a guy who swims in the ocean with an octopus. We continue watching it even after we’re finished eating, then move on to a movie about the history of one of the islands off the coast of Florida. She must find it boring or be exhausted, because halfway through the show, she passes out against my side, and instead of waking her up, I wrap my arm around her and settle in.