I rolled my eyes, clearly losing interest. “Listen, I don’t have time for a debate on biology, ok? Beau, start talkin’, or I swear to God, you’ll be cleanin’ up Donut’s mess with your shirt.”
Beau wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, glaring at Juju despite his obvious misery. “I don’t know anything,” he rasped, his voice hollow. “I didn’t mean to get involved in any of this.”
“Didn’t mean to?” Thore growled, his hands tightening around the towel like it was Beau’s neck. “You’ve got a funny way of stumbling into trouble, don’t you?”
“Enough.” My voice cut through the tension, firm but calm. “This isn’t helping. Beau, just tell me what you know.”
I was getting a fucking headache and wanted this night over. I needed to get back to my auntie Glorianna’s house before everyone woke up. As it was, I just fucking knew Devlyn was going to reem my ass because she had to sleep alone again.
Beau hesitated, his eyes darting to the door as if considering an escape. Juju caught the glance and leaned in, his grin turning feral. “Go ahead,” he said softly. “Run. See how far you get before I find you.”
The threat landed like a punch, and Beau sagged in defeat. He cleared his throat, glancing nervously around the room. “Alright,” he muttered, the word barely audible. “But once I say it, you’ll wish I hadn’t.”
The room fell silent. Even Braveheart uncrossed his arms as we all leaned in, waiting for Beau to spill whatever secret he had buried deep.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Chèr.”
Grumbling, I swatted at the annoying fly and rolled over.
“Wakey wakey,Chèr,” the annoying fly said. “Santa brought you a gift.”
“Go away, Wade,” I muttered, grabbing a pillow and placing it over my head. “It’s too early for your bedazzled dick.”
“Well, I’m not a sparkly dick, but I do have a glowing personality, or so I’ve been told,” a very familiar voice spoke.
Throwing the pillow off, I quickly sat up in bed and bumped my forehead into Wade’s face, totally ignoring the man as I scrambled from the bed and into my sister’s arms.
Jumping up and down and squealing like a five-year-old, I cried, “OH. MY. GOD! You’re here!”
“I think you broke my nose!” I barely heard Wade complain.
“I can’t believe you’re here!”
My sister laughed, holding onto me just as tightly as I clung to her. “Surprise! I told you I’d make it for Christmas.”
“How did you get here? You said all the flights were booked!” I gasped, pulling back just enough to look at her face, as though to confirm it wasn’t some dream.
“Wade planned it all. He even paid for the tickets,” Henley said with a grin, glancing over my shoulder at Wade.
Without thinking, I turned and jumped into Wade’s arms, kissing his face all over and accidentally bumping his nose again.
I looked up at him, my face still lit with joy, as Wade pinched the bridge of his nose, looking unimpressed, and muttered, “Pretty sure you broke my nose.”
“Oh, stop being dramatic,” I teased. “You should be used to taking a hit by now.”
Wade groaned dramatically, one hand gingerly touching his nose while his other arm instinctively wrapped around my waist to steady me. “You’ve got a strange way of saying thank you, you know that?” he teased with a lopsided grin, his eyes sparkling with mischief despite the slight wince.
Henley chuckled, stepping back to give us space, her delighted amusement filling the room. “I told him you’d react like this,” she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “You owe Wade, big time, Sis.”
Still clutching Wade, I turned to Henley, my voice mock-serious. “Oh, don’t worry, I’ll think of something,” I said with a playful glance back at him.
Wade smirked, his Southern drawl rolling out like honey. “Chèr, after all the trouble I went through to make this happen, I think I deserveLagniappe.”
“A what?” Henley asked as Wade wiggled his eyebrows.
“It means something extra.”
