Gah, I wanted what she had. She was stupid in love, and Tate earned that feeling. She could trust him until the end of time.
“Have you decided yet if that was incredibly sweet or decidedly creepy?” Autumn asked.
“Nothing Rhys does falls into the creepy category. Not with me.” He’d done it for me and not his wife. My heart went out to her. How many times had I been in her place, the woman wondering why I wasn’t enough for a guy?
I never thought I’d be the why for someone else.
“I can’t believe he admitted it.” Autumn leaned back while our food was delivered. After the young server left, she scooted closer to the table. “Lessons going okay with Bethany and Hannah?”
I rolled my eyes and dug into my rib eye. “Subtle.”
“I thought so,” Scarlett agreed. “We’re dying to know, but we know it’s not our business.”
“So we talk about it at work,” Autumn said, “but school’s out soon. Then what are we going to do?”
“Your husbands,” I joked and crunched my rising envy under my boot. I was irritated with them for asking about Rhys. I was jealous they had someone at home.
Scarlett poked at her sweet potato. “The drawback of being a teacher is that if I have a day off, the kids have a day off. Chance does, anyway. The other two are in day care for the school year. But enough about us.” Her gaze lifted to behind me and brightened. “The girls can tellme themselves how lessons are going.” She smiled and waved.
I whipped my head around and met Rhys’s closed-off stare. He cocked a brow. I shrugged. I hadn’t known they’d be eating out tonight, not that I would’ve changed my plans.
Bethany and Hannah were weaving through tables behind their dad. The hostess stopped at a booth, but the girls kept going. Hannah threw herself at me for a hug, then went around the table, embracing everyone else. Bethany did the same after her.
Rhys murmured a few words to the hostess and walked toward us with that rolling gait of his. He’d taken his hat off and finger-combed his dark wavy hair. His beard had been trimmed, and he wore a navy cable-knit sweater instead of flannel tonight.
He could close the distance and give me a hug. I’d stuff my face into that soft shirt and lean against his granite abs. I’d soak up his warmth.
I’d do more than that. I’d get hopelessly turned on, and it was already impossible to go to sleep without fantasizing about him in bed with me.
“Hey,” I said. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“That’s small town for ya.” He lifted his chin toward the remnants of the bourbon butter. “Which line?”
“Oldest Summit. The line Daddy made for Tate.”
A ghost of a smile played over his lips. “You missed when Curly did June’s Summit bourbon butter. He claimed he was kicking off your last tour, but I think he was trying to ride your coattails.”
“He wouldn’t be Curly if he wasn’t capitalizing on the Bailey family.”
Autumn cleared her throat. She had an arm aroundHannah. Bethany was between her and Scarlett and they were all watching us.
Rhys dipped his head. “Ladies,” he said gruffly.
He and I had been talking like there was no one else in the restaurant, much less at the table.
“I was just asking Junie how lessons were going,” Scarlett said, “and then poof—you appeared.”
“They’re good,” he replied.
“I can play all the notes,” Bethany said proudly.
“She’s working on ‘Brown Eyed Girl,’” I answered. She struggled, but she was stubborn, like her dad.
“I didn’t like it,” Hannah said. “I’m doing ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat.’”
Rhys tapped the back of my chair. “Come on, girls. Their food’s getting cold.”
I’d forgotten I had a steak waiting for me. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
