Sweet Seduction (10 page)

Two sets of eyes widened before Brianna went, “Can you
please, please, please
teach me how to do that?”

“No!” Everybody shouted.

Brianna pouted and kicked one booted foot against the floor. “I don’t ever get to do anything fun.”

Felix watched Evan Halima storm across the backyard and snatch the cookie that his eleven year old daughter Bailey was about to hand to one of Roderick Hine’s sons and had to fight not to laugh. The boy looked terrified. That’s when he heard Bianca yell, “Evan Halima! You leave them alone right now!”

Rod rubbed his temples. “Vic kept telling me that someday my old ways would haunt me.” Then he made his way across the yard to collect his son.

The rest of the party guests had ambled off to eat or socialize, leaving Felix and Archer to man the grill.  “Dude, I don’t think our kids are gonna break the cycle anytime soon.” Felix stated looking around at all the little girls and boys who were huddled together in small groups or playing.

Archer shook his head. “Speak for yourself. I already warned all the little crumb-snatchers that Abby was so off limits that if it even looked like they were trying to make eye contact with her nobody would
ever
find their remains.”

“And I told
you
to stop threatening innocent children.” Lena said walking up behind her husband.

Archer winced. “See, what I meant to say was…”

“Zip it, giant.” She rolled her eyes and looked at Felix. “Your birthday boy is ready to cut his cake already.”

Felix searched through the throng of people. “Really, where is he?”

“Right here, Papa.” A small weight hit the back of his legs and Felix chuckled before turning around to find Paige standing behind him, their son Fabian latched onto his calf muscle. “Ah, there’s my little man.” Reaching down, her grabbed the two year old and kissed the top of his head full of riotous curls. “Today you’re a big boy.”

Fabian’s green eyes lit and he clapped his small hands. “Big boy! Big boy! Cake! Cake! Cake!”

Chuckling, Felix pulled his wife into his side. “We’re in for one hell of a time huh?” he asked, watching all their friends hustle their own kids to gather them around the main picnic table.

She grinned up at him and nothing could’ve been more beautiful at that moment. “Yeah, but I think it’s more than worth it.”

Looking around at their newly acquired friends and family, his smile widened. It had taken him ten years but he’d finally gotten exactly what he needed. The woman by his side was his
everything.
And all it had taken was just a little sweet seduction.

Nikki

To read more about the characters connected to this book, check out the following stories by Nikki Winter:

Sweet Temptations (Bianca and Evan)

Sweet Surrender (Brianna and Dane)

Sweet Victory (Victory and Roderick)

Sweet Words (Harlow and Dexter)

Sweet Allure (Lena and Archer)

Sweet Valentine (Bianca and Evan holiday)