“How’s the roommate situation working out?”
I was pulled out of my thoughts by Max Harp, who sat next to me at the high-top by the windows.
What to say?
“Well, it’s going.” That was a start, right?
Max chuckled, placing a beer before me. “Barn Owl stout good?”
I nodded, taking a drink. “Thanks.”
Max settled onto his stool, and his partner in crime, Cole Sullivan, or Sully, came up to join us.
Max gave him a look. “Surprised Maggie let you out tonight.”
Sully laughed. “More like pushed me out. She said she was watching something on Netflix, going to bed early, and didn’t want me hovering.”
I shook my head with a smile. Maggie was Sully’s wife and Emma’s best friend. By my best estimate, she might have three weeks left in her pregnancy, maybe two. She taught at the middle school and often came by the library to visit with Emma while lamenting the fact that she could no longer see her feet.
Sully turned his focus on me. “She did send me out of the house with the strict order to find out what was going on with you and Elle. Sorry, man. She’s in the uncomfortable part of pregnancy here. I can’t go home empty-handed.”
Our server, Lauren, blessedly interrupted us to drop off the food. I ignored Sully and Max for a moment to eat a wing. Dropping the bones into a spare bowl, I glanced across the table to see them both watching, waiting.
Jesus. “Sorry to disappoint. Not sure if I have much to report.”
Max snorted. “Not what I heard from Blake.”
“The kid you have working for you?” Sully asked, smiling as he looked from Max to me. Keeping his gaze on my face, he asked, “What does our Blake have to report?”
“Well, apparently Mr. Roberts here took Ms. Robinson on a quaint little sleigh ride on Tuesday morning,” Max said, warming up.
Sully’s smile widened as he rubbed his hands together. “That’s the shit romance books get written about. Nicely done, Nate.”
“And”—Max paused for effect—“Blake might have mentioned that their lips happened to fall on each other at one point.”
Sully nodded like he was thinking it all through, rubbing his chin. “Makes sense, makes sense. If you wandered into a damn Hallmark movie, you’d need to continue on brand, right?”
I shook my head at them as my gaze was drawn to the windows again to check on Elle. Her head was thrown back as she laughed while her sister walked around the table, high-fiving their crew. I looked back at the two gossips I was sharing a meal with.
“Fine, so maybe we do have a little to report. But we’re taking things slow,” I cautioned.
“Man, she islivingwith you,” Sully said, eyebrow raised.
“In the spare room,” I pointed out.
Max about lost his beer. “I’m sorry,” he said. “What?”
I felt my face flush. I didn’t have brothers. I had close friends, but we were more likely to talk about the White Sox or the latest concert we’d been to, not any relationship we might be in. Was this supposed to be the norm?
“I didn’t want to rush anything,” I said, my voice trailing off as I felt all the indecision I had inside well up.
Sully gave Max a look, then glanced my way. “Maggie said you two have been circling each other for six weeks.”
“Well…” Truth, but how did I explain that this meant something to me and I didn’t want to fuck it up?
Max’s grin widened. “Sul, I think our boy here has it bad.”
Sully nodded, he stood up and came to my side, clasping my shoulder while nodding seriously. “Nate, we’ve been down this road before you…”
