Secrets That We Keep

by Linda Kage

  “Justice has been served,” I announced.

  Or it would be.

  In the distance, we could hear the wail of police sirens.

  If karma was in a giving-type mood, maybe Ethan would spend some time behind bars, starting today.

  One could hope.

  “Come on,” Fox said. “How about we get out of here and go celebrate somewhere.”

  Bella wrinkled her nose at him. “Uh, celebrate what?”

  “That justice is going to be served. And the fact that I’m allowed to do this in public now,” he told her, taking her hand and tugging her away from me so he could kiss her right there, outside the pub.

  Yellow turned to me, grinning. “I’d like to celebrate the fact that I’m able to do this anywhere now.”

  When she lifted onto her toes to press her mouth to mine, I kissed her back.

  But the police sirens that just kept getting louder kind of ruined the mood.

  I pulled back, glancing that way before turning back to Yellow. “You know, I do owe you breakfast.”

  She laughed because it was deep into the afternoon by now. But she only shrugged and admitted, “I am pretty hungry.”

  “That’s it,” I announced, turning to the other two who were still kissing because they were obviously weirdos who could kiss through the blare of approaching law enforcement. “I know where to go. You guys follow me. No, wait. You come with me,” I told Yellow, winking at her as I took her hand. Then I glanced toward Fox and Bella, who’d finally stopped kissing. “You two follow us.”

  Bella scowled and set a hand on her hip, while down the block, a police cruiser turned onto this street, its red and blue lights flashing. “Having eleven minutes on me does not make you the leader of this group.”

  I snorted at her. “Yes, it does.”

  “As if.”

  Together the four of us turned in unison and started toward the parking lot while the police pulled up to the curb behind us.

  “I’d like to see where it says in writing that the barely older twin makes all the rules,” Bella was saying.

  “Sure thing,” I told her as I slung an arm around Yellow. “I’ll find where it’s written down. Just watch me.”

  Leaning across me, Fox lifted his eyebrows at Yellow. “You sure you’re ready to get involved with this family?”

  But all she did was grin and look up at me. “Yes,” she claimed. “I am.”

  And that’s all a man ever needed to hear.

  Epilogue

  FOX

  I checked the time on my wrist and scowled. Where the hell were they? The Lowe twins very rarely made it to anything on time, but I’d been hoping they’d make it tonight at a respectable hour at least.

  Everyone in the family kept sneaking curious glances my way, and it was beginning to creep me out. I mean, I’m sure it had everything to do with the fact that I’d told my parents I planned on having a date here, but still…

  Wasn’t there something else they could gossip and wonder about for a minute? I felt like a damn bug under a microscope.

  We were having yet another family get-together in the back room of Pick’s bar, and honestly, I’d forgotten what we were celebrating this time. I just knew I didn’t have to bring anyone a present—or cash that would suffice as a present—so that was a relief.

  Oh, wait. When I spotted Haven and her new fiancé, Wick, across the room as she showed off her ring to Eva, I remembered, that’s right. This was their engagement party. Gah. My mind was so out of it right now. I just kept worrying that Bells was going to chicken out and not make the big reveal like she said she was.

  I checked my watch again, tempted to text her, but a presence at my side made me look up instead. Luke bobbed his head in greeting and then took a drink from the long-neck bottle he held. “So where’s this chick everyone’s saying is supposed to come and be your date for tonight? You get stood up or is she just invisible?”

  “Shut up, asswipe,” I muttered, scowling. “She’ll be here.”

  “Mm-hmm,” he murmured, totally not believing me, only to stop in the middle of lifting his beer to his mouth and gape toward the doorway. “Holy...hell.”

  Glancing over, I smiled.

  She looked like a lost lamb who’d wandered her way into a den of wolves as she hesitantly peered into the back room of the nightclub at all the noise and commotion our crew was making. We weren’t exactly a quiet, contained lot.

  Having pity, I lifted my arm and called, “Yo, El!”

  Her gaze zipped to me, and she brightened in relief at seeing a familiar face before coming forward.

  “No way,” Luke breathed, blinking at her before turning to me in a trance. “No fucking way is she here for you. That beautiful goddess of perfection would never give you the time of day. She can’t be your date for tonight. Tell me she’s not your date.”

  I shrugged. “Okay. She’s not my date.”

  “Hi,” she said, stopping before us and casting Luke a greeting smile before turning back to me.

  “Hey,” I said back, bobbing my head once in welcome. “Looks like you found the place alright.”

  “Oh yeah. I’ve actually been here before. I always loved the ambiance.”

  “Yes,” Luke felt the need to reply, inserting himself into the conversation so he could get some attention. “Forbidden’s got some great ambiance.”

  That was probably the first time he’d ever used the word ambiance in his life. I had to wonder if he even knew what it meant.

  “In fact,” he went on, nudging me aside so he could get closer to El. “I work here—hell, I’m practically the owner—so if you want a tour, I can take you around to all the back rooms and hidden passages. Show you what the average customer never gets to see.”

  Her eyes widened in curiosity. “Are there really hidden passages?”

  I rolled my eyes and dryly said, “No.” I’d grown up exploring all the back rooms and nooks and crannies of this building, just as Luke and Gray and all the others had. And about the most interesting thing we’d ever found was a door that opened into a brick wall.

  Hitching my thumb at my cousin who wasn’t really a cousin, I said, “This is Luke, by the way. He’s like the family’s stray mutt that you feed a couple of times because you feel so bad for it, but now he just won’t go away.”

  Luke’s smile turned hard. Keeping his attention on El, he slung an arm around my shoulders as if he was going to be friendly and companionable. But then he tightened his grip and transferred the move into a headlock before he bent me forward and rubbed his knuckles aggressively on my head. “And I know every embarrassing thing Fox here has done since birth,” he announced.

  El merely laughed, watching as I struggled to break free. But we both straightened when Bella’s mom appeared before us.

  “Boys. Behave,” Reese scolded, only to cast her gaze toward El with a big smile. “Don’t mind them. They might be a little rough around the edges, but I swear they both have hearts of solid gold.” She stuck out her hand a little too eagerly. “I’m Reese, by the way.”

  I found it very curious that Reese had been the first mom to get in an introduction. Or maybe she’d just been the closest.

  Yeah, that sounded more likely.

  “She’s Reese Lowe,” I explained to El with lifted eyebrows as I shrugged out of Luke’s grip and irritably slapped my clothes back into place.

  El’s eyes widened in understanding, and she turned back to Gray’s mom with a little more focus. Reese sent me an odd look for putting so much emphasis on her surname before she turned back to El with one of her classic please-like-me smiles.

  “You know, when my husband first described you,” she admitted, leaning confidentially closer to El, “I thought he had to be embellishing your looks. But you’re just a complete darling.” Then she glanced between us and nodded out a satisfied grin. “You two make a cute couple together.”

  “Oh!” I shook my head and waved my hands as El and I exchanged lee
ry glances. “No,” I told Reese as I turned back to her. “No, we’re not a couple. Not at all. El’s just my client.”

  “I knew it!” Luke hooted next to me, while Reese frowned in confusion.

  “But I swear your mother said you were going to have a date here tonight.”

  “He does,” a voice answered from behind her. Reese spun to discover her own daughter standing there, grinning. “It’s me, Mom,” Bella announced. “I’m his date.”

  “Wha—?” Reese started, blinking in confusion.

  But Bella merely stepped past her so she could approach me and lift her arms to wrap them around my neck. I'm pretty sure the entire room erupted into a volley of scandalized gasps when our lips met, but I was a little too invested in kissing my girlfriend hello to fully notice. Or care.

  “Oh my goodness,” was the first thing I heard when I finally pulled away to grin into those beautiful blue-gray eyes. “Oh my goodness,” Reese repeated, only to clutch her face with both hands. “Oh… I love this match even more. I mean…” Eyes widening in horror, she spun to El. “Sorry. I’m sure you’re lovely too. I just—I mean...” Wrinkling her nose, she tipped her face. “I’m so confused. Who are you, exactly?”

  “She’s my date,” her son said, appearing behind El and wrapping his arms around her waist so he could rub his cheek across hers and then smack an affectionate kiss to it.

  “Your…?” Reese’s expression was priceless as she watched El sink back into Gray’s arms and lift her hand behind her to stroke his silken, dark hair. Then Reese swiveled back toward Bella and me holding each other. Blinking rapidly between the two couples we made, she digested the facts before murmuring an awed, “Both my children are dating?”

  Then her eyes widened, and she clapped her hands, squealing, “Both my children are dating! Finally! I’m getting grandbabies!”

  “Mom!” Bella hissed with incredulous shock.

  “Right, sorry.” Reese cleared her throat, attempting to sober herself as she stopped hopping and straightened her expression. “You’re right, of course. It’s way too soon for that. But someday…” She clapped again, once more losing her hold on her excitement. “Maybe grandbabies. And one with Fox, too. Oh, Bella, what a good choice. I just love him to pieces as if he were one of my own.”

  She tugged me into an unexpected hug, and I laughed, catching my balance as she slapped a happy kiss to my cheek, only to catch me off guard yet again when she abruptly let go and turned away, toward El and Gracen. “And you. I didn’t even get your name yet. But I need to hug you too.”

  El looked a little alarmed as she was yanked into Reese’s arms, but she didn’t freak out or have a panic attack like she might have a year before. She only blushed and gave a nervous laugh when Gray’s mother pulled back to finally learn who she was.

  “Hey.” Luke bumped my arm, gaining my attention. “Bella, huh? Weird.” Then his gaze strayed toward El, and one eyebrow lifted with interest. “But seriously, you got any more clients?”

  And that’s how the family finally learned Bella and I were together.

  YELLOW

  Sweat dripped down the side of my temple as I rounded the last bend of my Saturday morning jog around the sports complex. Next to me, Parker’s steady breathing kept me company.

  But, uh, we weren’t supposed to be doing this alone. Together, we glanced back curiously.

  There was no sign of the Lowe twins behind us.

  Had they fallen that far behind?

  I shifted my gaze up toward Parker and lifted my eyebrows in question. He only shrugged.

  Even though I was no longer his client because we’d both agreed that I no longer needed the assistance of a life coach—especially after how well I’d handled myself during my testimony at Ethan’s trial where he was found guilty of multiple counts of rape and was currently in prison—we still liked to get in some Saturday morning workouts together. And when Bella had declared she wanted to join us, Gracen decided to tag along too. But they’d disappeared almost immediately after we started the warm-up run.

  Parker suddenly nudged my arm, then tipped his chin forward, making me look ahead. And there they were. Bella sat upright on the bench nearest the front doors and leaned back, resting her weight on her hands with her face lifted toward the sky, like someone sitting on a towel at the beach would do to soak up more vitamin D.

  Meanwhile, Gracen lay draped over her lap, looking for all the world like he was asleep.

  Parker and I jogged that way, deciding to end the warm-up run in front of their bench.

  “What the hell?” Parker asked, lifting his arms as he laughed at his girlfriend and slowed to a stop in front of her. “We thought you wanted to work out with us.”

  Bella waved her hand at her face, cooling herself down before she announced, “Yeah, but Gracen and I decided we’re not fans of running.”

  At the mention of his name, he opened his eyes and sat up, yawning before smacking his lips and grinning affectionately at me. “Oh, hey. Is it over already? Good run, guys. Way to give it your all.” Then he slapped his hands together and glanced around. “What’s next?”

  “Why don’t you two just go on home?” Parker suggested dryly. “If you can’t make a simple lap around the building, then no way are you going to want to sweat on the basketball court.”

  “Eww, there’s sweating involved?” Bella wrinkled her nose as she pushed to her feet, groaning and stretching as she did. “Sweating is so gross.”

  “Oh, really?” Parker countered by snagging her waist and tugging her against him for a heated kiss. When he pulled back to grin at her, he winked. “You weren’t saying that last night.”

  “Ugh. Now that’s disgusting,” Gracen told them, pulling his face back with a wince. “Seriously. You two are enough to make a person gag.” Then he popped to my side and smiled brightly. “Hi. Don’t worry, I like sweat. Especially your sweat.” And he demonstrated by licking away a droplet that was trailing down the side of my neck.

  To say the least, by the time we made it to our reserved room, everyone had been thoroughly kissed.

  “Alright,” Parker announced, fetching a ball and slapping it between his palms to gain our attention. “Let’s team up. El, you’re with me.”

  “Whoa, hey. Now, wait a second,” Gracen objected. “You can’t just take my girlfriend as your teammate.”

  “What?” Parker asked innocently. “I’m letting you team up with my girlfriend. Besides, we can be the Lowes against the non-Lowes.”

  The twins shared a suspicious glance before Bella shook her head. “Uh-uh. I smell a conspiracy.”

  “Oh yeah,” Gracen agreed, folding his arms over his chest and turning back to arch one eyebrow. “They’re definitely up to something.”

  “We are not up to anything,” Parker insisted, lifting his hands and laughing over their paranoia. “I’ve just never played on the same side as El before. It’s always been one-on-one sessions, so we’ve been opponents. This is my first chance to be her teammate.”

  “Well, I’ve never played on the same side as you before either,” Bella argued, setting her hands on her hips. “So what’s up with that?”

  He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Baby, we team up together every damn night.”

  “God,” Gray groaned, throwing his head back and digging his palms into his eye sockets. “Will you two stop saying shit like that? I’m going to grow up with serious mental issues.”

  Parker snorted. “You? grow up? Yeah, right. Besides, you already have issues.” Then he dribbled the ball once before catching it again. “Now, come on, are we going to play or not?”

  Bella scowled toward her brother. “They’re so going to kick our asses.”

  “They really are,” he agreed. But then he glanced my way, and the expression in his gaze instantly softened. “But I can’t imagine losing to anyone sexier,” he announced. “So let’s get this beating over with.”

  “Great!” Parker cheered and immediately tossed the
ball toward me.

  Ready to get my groove on, I flashed forward, dribbling toward the basket. Bella cried out in despair and dove after me, completely missing me and stumbling off somewhere to the side behind me. Gray started toward me too, but Parker leaped into his path, successfully blocking him.

  I stopped short of going in for a layup because jump shots were my jam, and I took careful aim.

  A moment later, the ball sank through the hoop, nothing but net.

  “Yes!” I cheered, lifting my hands in triumph and spinning to face the others, finding Bella groaning in defeat on the floor and Fox shouting his congratulations before trotting after the ball to fetch it.

  “She's awesome,” Gracen sang.

  I whirled toward him and rolled my eyes. “Quoting The Croods again, huh?”

  “I know, right?” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “And we're not even in bed together this time.”

  His sister made a surprised sound in the middle of pushing back to her feet, and she glanced quizzically between us. Then she shook her head as if she didn't want to know what that meant and announced, “You two are so strange.”

  We really were, weren't we? But I loved it.

  Appreciating life in general, I threw my head back and laughed. “Isn’t it great?” I told her.

  Gracen paused to watch me. He looked so taken with the scene he saw that my chuckle settled into an embarrassed flush until I was tilting my head curiously, silently asking him what he was thinking.

  A grin broke across his face. “I…” he called, lifting his voice with each word. “Am...a…cave...man.”

  And he charged, coming straight for me until he caught me around the middle with one arm and lifted me off my feet, making me screech in protest and cling to him with a clap of laughter.

  As he spun us in a circle, trying to imitate a caveman, I guess, Fox stopped next to Bella and rested the basketball against his hip with one arm as he watched us as well.