Page 78 of Rowdy & Kat

“Oh, then, welcome to the party,” I said and gestured out at the yards filled with friends and family. “I thought you might be here to start trouble since Zodiac has lost his balls to my cousin.”

York glanced over his shoulder at Zodiac before turning his gaze to me. “I’m going next door to avoid this pissing match.”

Kat leaned over to Maria and whispered something in Estonian. Farley heard them gossiping in another language and frowned at me.

“We’ll learn it,” I promised and smiled at Kat. “There’ll be no more secrets then.”

“We also know Spanish,” Kat said, making me smile.

“So do we.”

“We know some French.”

“Good Lord, woman,” I muttered and kissed her.

As I made out with my hot blonde unofficial wife, Farley mentioned his moms and sister were on their way over from the Sorority House. Maria tried to free Kat from my embrace, but I shooed her away.

Undaunted, Maria said something in Estonian and Kat broke free. Her gaze was big and worried. The twins grabbed at each other and whispered.

“You’ll always be second best,” Zodiac mocked me.

“A close second,” I replied casually, never letting the dickhead get to me. “How can I be any closer when they’ve known each other since the womb?”

Zodiac narrowed his eyes at me, irritated by how I refused to beg for his approval. Men like him walked through life intimidating people. I suspected the reason he went so gaga over Elle was that she wasn’t impressed by his macho man routine.

Kat and Maria stopped whispering in Estonian and shuffled closer to me. I realized I was supposed to protect them, so I glanced around for the threat.

Farley frowned at their behavior before focusing his irritation on me. I wrapped an arm around Kat and smiled at my friend.

“They’re scared of your moms.”

“Aww,” Elle cooed and nudged Nova. “Maria’s meeting Farley’s parents today. Does this party have popcorn?”

Soon, Maria stood out front where Bay, Pepper, and Zadie parked their motorcycles. Farley’s moms were original members of the Everything Nice Crew. They both sported short brown hair. Pepper’s icy blue eyes could be intimidating to outsiders, while Bay’s round face covered in freckles hid the killer underneath. They both smiled at Farley when he took Maria’s hand.

Zadie looked like she hadn’t slept much the night before. Her blonde hair was a mess, and her brown eyes were sleepy. She wore her resting bitch face until Farley introduced everyone.

I could see the relief in his mothers’ faces when they realized Maria wasn’t a loser. Each word out of her mouth inspired them to relax a little more. By the time we walked to my parents’ house to show off the boys, I suspected Bay and Pepper were hoping for wedding bells.

KAT

Bebe’s kitchen was full of women who introduced themselves too quickly and left me confused. After we checked on the boys, Bebe insisted Maria, Rowdy, and I go have fun.

Somehow, as I was leaving the packed house, I got separated from Maria and Rowdy. My sister was swept away by Farley’s family. Meanwhile, Rowdy was pinned in a corner by two middle-aged women who wanted to know more about his mystery babies and if he had gotten blood tests.

I found myself in the backyard in search of someone to talk to while I waited for Rowdy to free himself. Sabrina immediately grabbed hold of me and introduced sisters, Dalisay and Jaslene Tooker.

“How did you meet Rowdy?” Jaslene asked and narrowed her pretty, brown eyes.

“In high school.”

Dalisay frowned. “Wait, what?”

“I already explained this shit to you,” Sabrina grumbled at the sisters. “I didn’t call you over to interrogate my unofficial sister-in-law.”

“Then why did you call us over?”

“To introduce you to Kat before asking her a question in front of my lovely friends.”