Page 111 of Irresistibly Wicked

“Got you!” Mike shouted as he pelted her back with his Super Soaker.

She spun around, confetti sticking to her wet clothes, and Cap sprinted past, spraying her. “You too?”

“Couldn’t let the boys have all the fun,” Cap said with a grin.

She rolled her eyes, but her cheeks hurt from smiling so hard.

“And we couldn’t let your birthday pass without getting you something,” Lance said.

She plucked a piece of wet confetti from her cheek. “Just what I always wanted, a confetti shower.”

“Nah, we got you something better than that,” Paul chimed in.

“I’ll get it!” Mike tossed his Super Soaker onto the table and ran to the kitchen. He reappeared with a pink-frosted cake covered in strawberries.

Shauna laughed. “You got me your favorite cake?”

“Hey, it’s a classic!” Mike said.

Howie cuffed him on the back of the head. “Dude, I told you to get her something she’d like.”

Warmth bloomed in her chest as they gave Mike a hard time. They were rowdy and could be annoying, but they were her family, too, and she loved them.

“Sorry, Flores,” Mike said.

“It’s perfect,” she said, just like today was, with the exception of not seeing Brian.

“What’d loverboy get you?” Lance asked.

Her traitorous heart warmed with the memory of their sexcapade and how much she’d enjoyed having her wrists bound.

“That look screams X-rated gift to me,” Paul said, and the guys howled with laughter, like they were in on her secret.

“All gifts should be X-rated when you’re newlyweds,” Howie added.

“No wonder she was glowing this morning,” Lance said.

“Our little girl is finally getting some,” Mike said.

Shauna laughed despite herself. The arrangement might be fake, but she liked living in this very real bubble of happiness.

LATER THAT AFTERNOON, Shauna stretched her shoulders as she headed to the ambulance in front of their latest call site. Thankfully it had gone smoothly, just a small kitchen fire and a panic attack.

Cap was leaning against the fire truck, his arms crossed and his eyes on her in that quiet, steady way of his. “Sorry about the water guns.”

“No, you’re not. It was fun.” She leaned beside him, exhaling. “I’m glad this wasn’t worse.”

“You and me, both.” He looked over at the firefighters talking to the homeowners for a minute before turning back to Shauna. “How’re things with Zander? Still think you made the right decision?”

Cap had checked in with her a couple of times, and she appreciated it. “Things are good, and yes. I know I made the right decision.”

“Good. And when it ends?” He cocked a brow.

She forced a laugh. “Then it ends. No big deal.”

He lifted his brows knowingly.

“Ugh. Fine. It’s not no big deal, exactly. I mean, he’s really good at playing the part, and sometimes it feels real. Like we’re an us, you know?”