CHAPTER 20 (3)

“Thank you for coming here this weekend.” He brushed a lock of hair from her cheek. “I can’t imagine doing any of this without

you.” His fingertips lingered on her face. “I wouldn’t want to.”

She melted on the inside. Not just from his caress, but from the amazing things he’d said. His gaze on her burned with desire, tracing

her face, sweeping down to her lips, as if he imagined putting his mouth on hers.

Before she could put voice to any of her swirling, growing feelings—or steal the kiss she could practically taste—Tyler called out,

“You any good at Yahtzee, Ares?”

“Wait and see,” Ares said with a smirk.

“Sorry in advance when I crush you, bro.”

By the grin that spread over Ares face, Kelsey knew how much he liked it when his bro egged him on.

Still, Kelsey’s stomach twisted. Because once she and Keira had grown into teenagers, they’d never had that kind of relationship.

And now they never would.

“Kelsey?” Looking back up into Ares eyes, she saw concern deepening the hazel color. “Are you okay? You look upset.”

He’d been honest with her. She could do no less with him. “I was thinking about Keira. How we were never very good together as

sisters.”

“You were.” His words were impassioned. “You were the best sister she could ever have hoped for. It’s her fault she never knew how

to love you the way you loved her.”

With his heartfelt words, Kelsey felt a spell weaving itself around just the two of them, drawing them closer and deeper together.

“Time to get your caffeine fix,” Sally called out, carrying two carafes while George carted a tray of mugs and cream and sugar. Tessa

followed with a big plate of cookies.

Even then, the spell didn’t break. Because Kelsey could still feel the threads of attraction—and strong emotion—connecting them.

* * *

The game was fabulous. They laughed and cursed and groaned and had a marvelous time with each roll of the dice.

“You can’t use a calculator.” Tony snorted at his sister when she fished one out of her purse.

“I’m an accountant. We do everything better with calculators.”

“I’m not touching that one with a ten-foot pole.” George’s eyes widened to saucer size.

Everyone laughed. Even Tessa. And she wasn’t the only one having a good time. At long last, something seemed to let loose in Ares

too.

Was it spending time with his new siblings?

Was it realizing that the ghost of his mother wasn’t nearly as horrible in real life as it had been in his head all these years?

Or was it the bond Kelsey felt growing moment by moment between herself and Ares?

He rolled and one of the dice fell off the table. He leaned down to get it, searching on the carpet, but somehow found her leg instead,

his hand gliding up the half boots she wore, as if he hadn’t been able to resist touching her.

Kelsey flushed, almost gasping out loud at the sensual touch.

When he finally came back up with the die, Sally pointed a finger at him and said, “You better watch out for him.”

Kelsey’s heart stopped beating. Does Sally know?

“He was always the quiet one, our Ares,” Sally continued. “But then you’d find he’d done something tricky, like switching out the

dice under the table.”

“Yes, you.” She was laughing as she said, “You were our little prankster. Remember that time you put a frog in my apron pocket?”

“That was because you made us all watch The Sound of Music.” He looked around the coffee table, grinning as he said, “Seriously.

Five teenage boys watching Maria flirt with Captain von Trapp?”

“So you’re saying Ares was incorrigible?” Kathy asked.

Sally nodded happily. “Totally.”

He looked at Kelsey. “You’ve known me all these years. You could defend me, you know.”

“Actually,” Kelsey said with a wicked little grin, “I’d rather Sally and George tell us more stories about their little prankster.”

It turned out there was no end to the mischief Ares had caused.

There was the time he’d put the goldfish in the toilet while he cleaned the fishbowl. “How was I supposed to know Perseus wasn’t

going to look down?”

And the time he painted the windows shut. “Hector was the one who was good with his hands. No one told me I was supposed to

tape first.”

“And what about when you put the hammer through the wall while you were hanging a picture for me?” Sally’s smile was fond with

the memory.

“The walls were like tissue paper,” Ares protested. “The hammer just followed the nail right through.”

“And you didn’t know your own strength,” George added.

“Exactly. But how did you two know about that? Hector helped me patch it up so it looked like new.”

Sally laughed. “Hera.”

“That little tattletale,” Ares grumbled, but there was light in his eyes for the youngest Beischel. All the Baddicks had a soft spot for

her.

Kelsey wondered if those small incidents had been Ares way of acting out like a normal kid—especially considering he’d grown up

with a father who wouldn’t let the slightest transgression pass, even if it was an accident. If so, Sally and George had taken it all in

stride. They told the vignettes with a smile, a laugh, and, from Sally, sometimes a little swat at Ares. Meanwhile, he and Tyler kept

racking up the points on their Yahtzee scorecards.