He blushed and looked away. “I’m serious, though. I think you’re letting what youthinkyou know blind you to what’s really happening. Where there’s smoke, there’sfire.”
“Everett!” Henry yelled, waving a hand at Ev. “Everett, come here and tell Diane how your demon cat has decided she loves me!” Henry was positivelygrinning.
Ev sighed and passed me his plate of food. “The mature heterosexual grows tired of the courtship ritual and has decided to bait hisoffspring.”
I let my hand brush over his hip briefly, where no one could see. “I’ll talk to youlater?”
Henodded.
“Everett!”
Ev gritted his teeth and I watched him walkaway.
I wondered if Ev could see the pride on his grandfather’s face as he approached. Ev thought he was so savvy about relationships, but I was pretty sure he was clueless about how much Henry lovedhim.
“A-hem.” Dare came out of nowhere and slung an arm over my shoulder, directing me away from the buffet table to a high-top nearby, where Cal was already standing. “What’s up, loverboy?”
I shrugged him off. “What?”
Cal grinned at me across the table. “I’ve gotta say, I wondered if Frank was exaggerating, but I see hewasn’t.”
“What are you talking about?” I demanded, but of course Iknew.
“You and Everett, obviously,” Daresaid.
“You’re the topicdu jour.” Cal gave me a sympathetic shrug before taking a sip of beer. “And the way you’re looking at the man isn’t doing much to dispel therumors.”
“Frank’s been telling everyone how you and Ev were holding hands out at his place yesterday.” He raised an eyebrow at me. “Didn’t you once tell me that was against yourreligion?”
“Si toldmelast summer that he was absent the day they handed out commitment genes,” Cal said, pushing a chunk of red hair back from his forehead with his fingers. “Mocked Ash and me for being inlove.”
“I mean, to be fair,” Dare teased. “You guysaredisgusting.”
Cal shrugged, completely unconcerned. “You remember what I told you that day, Si? I said love was gonna come and whack you when you least expectedit.”
I huffed out a breath, but my instinctive denial got stuck somewhere between my lungs and my mouth. The best I could come up with was a lame little eye-roll.
“It’s notlove, Cal,” I scoffed. “He’s been in town a couple ofweeks.And most of that time he wasn’t talking tome.”
“I knew Ash for twominutes.”
“That’s the exception, not therule.”
Cal drew his phone from his pocket and read the display. He chuckled, then downed the rest of his beer in one gulp. “Well, I’m about to go rescue myexceptionfrom the clutches of his mother and sister-in-law. I feel a terrible headache coming on and I won’t possibly be able to stay for the game.” He winked at me. “And for what it’s worth, I think your guy’s pretty exceptionaltoo.”
I shook my head as he walked off. “He’s crazy,” I told Dare. “My guy.”I was desperately trying to ignore the newly possessive part of me that wanted to roll around in theidea.
“Uh huh. So whatdidhappenyesterday?”
“Nothing. We hiked. We found that weird place with the chimes that I told you aboutyesterday.”
Dare grunted. “I sent Elliot Marks out to look at it this morning. We’re gonna have to remove all those weeds and destroy them. Damn things areinvasive.”
“Well, don’t blame the messenger,” I told him. “I didn’t plant them, I just foundthem.”
“While you were hiking. With Ev,” heprompted.
Dare gave me the same penetrating gaze he’d given me at the restaurant yesterday, and though I tried to ignore him, once again I found myself spilling myguts.
