Legacy by M.A. Foster

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Katie

Gabbi steers up the driveway leading to Vanessa and Liam’s home and parks behind a white Range Rover. I finished off the bottle of wine I’d brought to Gabbi’s, so she’s the designated driver tonight.

“Whose car is that?” I ask as I climb out of the passenger side and close the door.

“I think it’s Jayla’s,” she says as we make our way up the steps.

Sucking in a breath, I reach over and grab her arm. “Seriously? I drank almost an entire bottle of wine by myself today. I’m in no shape to meet her. What if I say or do something embarrassing?”

Gabbi rings the doorbell, then turns to me. “I felt the same way. Trust me, once you meet her, you’ll see she’s just a normal girl.”

The door swings open, and there she is. “Hi, Gabbi,” she chirps before taking a step back to let us in.

“Hey.” Gabbi grins as she steps over the threshold, and I follow her inside. “Is my brother here?”

Jayla snickers as she closes the door. “No. It’s just me and Z.” Her eyes shift from Gabbi to me. “You must be Katie.” She holds out her hand, and I take it. “I’m Jay.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

Releasing my hand, she points to my sweat suit. “Nice outfit.” She grins, and I realize she’s wearing the same one except in gray.

“Oh.” I snicker. “I guess I have good taste.”

“Definitely,” she agrees. “I love your hair.”

“Thanks.”

“Vanessa and I just finished dinner. Come on.” She waves her hand. “We’re eating out back since these two weirdos don’t have any furniture.”

Stepping out onto the patio, Jayla calls out to Vanessa, “Your guests are here.”

“Ladies,” Liam cheers, holding up a taco.

“Hey.” Vanessa waves as she stands from the table and makes her way over to Gabbi and me. “Everyone, these are two of my best friends. I think most of you have already met Gabbi. She’s also the one who helped Liam find this house.” Gabbi greets everyone with a hello as she takes a seat. Vanessa hooks her arm around my shoulders and herds me closer to the table. “This is Katie. She was in London for three months designing a beautiful nightclub. She just got back last week.” She gestures to Jayla. “You’ve already met Jay.” She points to the good-looking guy with wavy blond hair beside Jay. “Her husband, Zach. That’s Cole.” Black hair, green eyes, devilish smirk. He’s definitely a Mackenzie. “Cole’s fiancée, Harper.” My eyes move to the pretty redhead beside him and my back straightens. She’s the redhead from the cemetery. If she recognizes me, it doesn’t show. “And you’ve met Dylan.”

My gaze locks with Dylan’s, and my stomach tightens. His stare is intense. His expression is knowing, as if to say “I’ve been inside you.”

“Come eat.” Vanessa steers me over to the empty seat between her and Dylan.

I fight back an eye roll. Could she be more transparent?

“So, tacos on a Wednesday?” Gabbi teases. “You’re breaking tradition, V.”

“I was craving Mexican,” Vanessa explains with a flick of her wrist. “Liam doesn’t like that Tex-Mex place.”

Harper sputters. “Neither does Jay.”

“Why?” Gabbi asks. “I love that place. The food is good. Even better after the remodel.”

“Jay likes their food,” Zach offers. “She just doesn’t like to eat there.”

Jayla makes a sour face. “I had a bad experience once, and I just can’t eat there, even though occasionally Harper forces me to.”

“Did you get food poisoning?” I ask.

Harper is laughing at this point, and now I’m curious. “Please let me tell them,” she begs.

“Harper.” Jayla groans and turns her face in Zach’s bicep. “She’s never going to let me live this down,” she says, her voice muffled.

“Oh, now I need to know,” Liam chimes in.

“Last year, Zach and Cole were being dumbasses,” Harper starts.

“They don’t need to hear that part,” Cole interjects. “Just tell them about the camel toe.”

“I knew you were gonna say that,” Gabbi says with a laugh.

Liam props his elbows on the edge of the table. “I wanna hear it.” He tips his chin to Harper. “Continue.”

“Anyway,” Harper goes on, “Zach and Jay were taking a break—”

Liam’s eyes dart to Zach, and Vanessa jabs me playfully with her elbow as if to say “Look how protective he is.” I pinch my lips together to hide my amusement.

“—and Cole and I broke up.”

“Not true,” Cole interrupts.

“My bad,” Harper retracts with an eye roll. “I broke up with Cole, but he refused to accept it.”

“That’s my boy,” Liam praises, holding out his fist and bumping it with Cole’s.

“It was Valentine’s Day, so Emerson took us to the Tex-Mex place for girls’ night. This was before they had servers, back when you had to order at the register with your name, then find a seat, and someone brought your food out to you.” Harper snickers and points at Jay. “The server brought out Jay’s food, and—” She leans against Cole, her body shaking with silent laughter. “—she had the biggest—”

“Coochie wedgie,” Jayla finishes, and the whole table erupts with laughter.

“It’s called beavage,” Gabbi adds, prompting another round of cackles. “I know what you mean. It’s almost unsanitary, but their food is good and the margaritas—”

“Are death in a glass,” Liam interjects.

“You barely had two,” Vanessa reminds him.

“Two too many.” Liam swings a hand toward Harper. “Keep going.”

“That’s not even the best part.” Harper wipes the tears from her face. “The look on Jay’s face was priceless. She looked offended—”

“I was.” Jayla nods.

“I tried so hard not to laugh but I couldn’t help it. Then the girl came back with Emerson’s food, and it was like a car crash. Emerson turned and it was just right there.”

“Who’s Emerson?” I ask.

“My mom,” Jayla tells me at the same time Liam says, “My sister.”

“Oh.” I nod. “Sorry. Keep going.”

Harper waves it off. “Here’s the best part. When the server walked off, Jay said, ‘Not what I had in mind when you said Taco Tuesday, Mom.’”

“You didn’t tell me this part.” Zach looks at Jayla and grins.

“Just wait,” Harper squeaks, barely getting the words out. “Then Emerson said, ‘That looks painful,’ and then Jay said….” She’s practically wheezing.

“Oh my God, Harper.” Jayla snickers. “It’s not that funny.”

All Harper can do is nod, insisting it is that funny.

Jayla reaches for her drink. “All I said was, ‘I think it winked at me’.” She shrugs as if it’s not the funniest fucking thing anyone has ever heard.

I look over at Dylan to see his head thrown back, his body shaking with laughter. I like seeing him around his family. He still has that alpha-broody thing going on, but not in an asshole way. Nevertheless, it’s still hot.

Harper wipes the tears from her face. “That will forever be the funniest story of my life.”

“It’s not so funny when it’s staring you in the face.” Jayla shudders.

* * *

Over dinner, I learned Cole and Dylan are brothers. Dylan is the oldest, then Cole, and there's also Aiden, the youngest. Zach and Jayla—who asked me to call her Jay—have known each other since they were little and started dating their senior year when she moved to Heritage Bay after her father died. Cole and Harper also began dating their senior year when Harper started working at Mac’s.

If Harper remembered me from the cemetery, she never let on.

Dylan and I engaged in easy conversation. We talked about simple things like high school, college, and my job as an interior designer. He never mentioned the meeting with my bosses, and I didn’t tell him that I’d been fired.

After dinner, Zach, Jayla, Cole, and Harper say their goodbyes while Gabbi and I help Vanessa clean up.

“That was fun,” I say as I load the last of the dishes into the dishwasher.

“It was,” Vanessa agrees. “I want to do more dinners. Especially with Liam—” Her voice breaks, and I look up to see the tears in her eyes.

“Vanessa.” I move to her side and place a hand on her back. “Just go with him.”

She shakes her head and swipes away the stray tear. “He hasn’t asked me to go.” She draws in a breath. “He’s leaving early Monday, and he hasn’t said anything. I have a job and a house. He would’ve said something by now. He doesn’t want me to go, and I don’t know why.”

“Maybe because you have a job and a house,” Gabbi states, and I have to admit she has a point.

“I’m not going to bring it up. We’re in such a good place now, and I don't want to spend our last days fighting.”

“No, you should spend it fucking.” This comes from Gabbi, and again I agree.

“I’m back now, so I’ll come over more.” I rub her back to soothe her. “We can have all the girls’ nights you want.”

She nods. “That would be nice.”

“I’ll be right back,” I murmur. “I have to pee.”

“Down the hall on your left.”

I hurry down the hall and slip inside the bathroom to pee and wash my hands. Pulling open the door, I flick off the light and step out, smacking into a hard body.

“Whoa,” Dylan says with a chuckle. His arms circle my waist, and he pulls me flush against him.

“I’m sorry.” I place my hands on his chest. “I didn’t see you.”

“It’s okay,” he says softly, dipping his head to kiss my cheek before moving his mouth to my ear. “Come home with me.”

I melt against him, because I want to. “It’s probably not a good idea.”

“Why?” He brushes his lips over my jaw, then seals them over mine. My mouth parts on a gasp, and he takes control of the kiss. His hand dips beneath the waistband of my sweatpants and cups my ass.

“Because,” I pant against his lips, “I’m not good at this.”

“From what I remember, you’re very good at this.” Sliding his hand lower, he slips a finger under the elastic of my panties and teases my opening. I bite down on my lip to keep from moaning out loud. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that night.” He pushes the tip of his finger inside me, and my pussy clenches with need. “The way your perfect pussy squeezed my dick as I pumped into you. Fuck, I’ve never come so hard in my life.” My knees buckle at his words. He reinforces his hold on my waist, keeping me upright as he moves his mouth to my ear. “Tell me you think about that night, too.”

“Yes,” I breathe.

“That was more than a hook-up.” He bites down gently on my earlobe. “Tell me you felt it.”

Swallowing over the lump in my throat, I choke out another “Yes.”

“Come home with me, Katie.” His tone gentle, but firm. Commanding.

The hot, sexy alpha from London is back, and fuck me, I can’t say no to him.

“Yes.”