Ignoring Stephanie and her friends turned out not to be so easy when they swooped down on Dylan within minutes of our arrival, effectively pushing me out of the circle they’d made around him. We’d been handed mint juleps on arrival by a server holding a trayful of them, and I wanted to splash mine in Stephanie’s face. And who served mint juleps at a barbeque anyway? Where the hell was the beer?
As soon as I spied Adam and Connor, I headed for them, even though Dylan sent me a help-me look. I gave him a what-am-I-supposed-to-do shrug. I could have gone one-on-one with Stephanie, but her and her four minions? Not even going to try.
“Hey, you two,” I said, giving Adam a hug, then Connor.
“Here’s my favorite cowgirl,” Adam said, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “You gonna let her steal your man?” he whispered in my ear.
I laughed. “I’m not claiming him as my man, but I do know he’s going home with me, so she can just go and eat her heart out.”
“What secrets are you two whispering about?” Connor said, hauling me away from his brother and tucking me next to him.
“I just told him that I was going to marry him instead of you.”
“The hell you say. I’ll knock his teeth out first.”
“I guess I’ll just have to marry you both.” For a brief second I had an erotic fantasy of the black-haired, blue-eyed twins making a sandwich out of me, which would have been totally hot if it hadn’t sent me into a fit of laughter.
“Want to share?” Adam said.
“Not really.” I put the still-full mint julep on a table. “Where’d you get the beer?” I asked, eyeing Connor’s.
“I’ll get you one.” He winked as he headed away. “Love the hat, by the way.”
A few minutes and he was back with an icy bottle. I took a few swallows. “Much better.”
Adam pointed at Dylan with his beer bottle. “Maybe we should go save him.”
Poor Dylan. Stephanie had her arm wrapped around his, talking a mile a minute. He glanced over at me, narrowing his eyes, and I took pity on him.
The mayor’s house—a sprawling brick ranch—sat on about an acre of land, with a rushing stream behind the large deck we stood on. The Blue Ridge Valley Country Club set were all here, most of whom I knew well enough to say hello to. Not my crowd, but they’d expect Dylan to join their ranks. Honestly, he really wouldn’t have a choice even if he weren’t interested.
“How’s Savannah?” Adam asked as the three of us headed off to save Dylan.
“Autumn and I are a little worried about her. She’s not keeping in touch like she’s supposed to, and when we do talk to her, she seems evasive. She’ll be home for Autumn’s wedding, so we’ll get to see firsthand what’s going on with her.”
Adam got silent after that. He and Savannah had been an item in high school, but she’d moved to New York to become a famous model, leaving him behind. If not for her mother interfering and pushing Savannah to go, I think she might have stayed. I know she loved him. I was the only one who knew Mrs. Graham had paid Adam a visit, convincing him that he was standing in the way of Savannah’s dream, and if he didn’t let her go, Savannah would end up resenting him. I knew that because I’d stopped by his house the night he’d broken up with her, and it had all come pouring out.
“Great to see you again, Dylan,” Adam said when we reached the group.
“Same here.” Dylan held out his hand, forcing Stephanie to let go of him. As he and Adam shook, he subtly sidestepped, putting some space between her and him. He took another step away to turn to Connor.
Dylan laughed. “I don’t know which one of you is which, so I’ll just say it’s good to see you both.”
“I’m Adam,” Connor said.
“Stop messing with him, goofball.” I squeezed into the space Dylan had created between him and Stephanie. “For today, just remember that Adam’s wearing the white shirt and Connor the green one. And anytime Connor tells you he’s Adam, it’ll be just the opposite, but you can always trust Adam.”
Amusement sparkled in Dylan’s eyes. “You do realize that doesn’t help. If he says he’s Adam, but Adam always says he’s Adam… You follow my reasoning there, Red?”
That made me laugh. “True.” I could always tell the twins apart, but a lot of people couldn’t except for those who knew what to look for. “Okay. I’ll let you in on a secret. Adam always wears a sapphire stone earring and Connor an emerald one.”
He eyed each of the twins’ earrings. “Ah, good to know.”
“You on the way to a rodeo,Red?” Stephanie said, her nose wrinkling as she gave me the once-over.
I hated how she turned Dylan’s pet name for me into a joke, but I’d learned long ago not to take her bait. “No, but I do plan to save a horse tonight.” Dylan covered up a laugh with a cough. On the other side of him, the twins gave dual snorts.
She furrowed her brows. “Whatever.”
