She glanced over at her man and smiled, and Erin saw the love pass between them. “Oh, I want that. That look where you just smile and know you have each other.”
Ivy glance over at Smith, who had kept his eye on Erin. “I don’t know. Seems like you have your own giant watching over you.” Smith gave Sam an unfriendly glare, but Sam didn’t see it, focused on an argument with Willie.
“Ignore his death glares,” Erin apologized for him. “It’s been a rough day. And when he thought something had happened to Tilly, Smith kind of freaked.”
“Smith? That’s his first or last name?”
“First.” Erin grinned. “Everything about him is a little bit different. I like it. I like him.”
“I’d say he likes you too.” Ivy chuckled. “He must be the boyfriend Rupert thought you made up.”
“He said that?”
“Yeah. But I wouldn’t blame you. I met Rupert and Willie through Sam. They’re all an acquired taste,” she said with humor and affection. “Rupert mentioned you’re new to town and trying to meet new friends.”
Erin flushed. “Why do I feel like a kid whose mom tries to set her up on a playdate?”
Ivy laughed. “That’s about right. But don’t worry. I get it. It can’t be easy to come to the city all alone.”
“Yeah. I’m over the ex-boyfriend. Rupert no doubt told you about that?”
“He did. I can have Sam go beat him up if you want.”
Erin was pretty sure Ivy was kidding. “That’s okay. It’s all I can do to keep my guy from rearraigning his face.”
“Yeah. He seems like the type.” Ivy leaned closer. “What is up with the giant men around here? Am I right?”
“Yes.” Erin nodded. “Smith is only slightly taller than his brothers. And they were all Marines.”
“Huh. Mine and his friends are all mechanics and felons.” She winked. “Kidding about the felons thing. They just look the part.”
Erin gave Sam a wary glance. “I’ll say. How did you start dating?”
“Cookie brought us together.” Ivy explained how a lost dog had thrown Sam into her life. They chatted about good places to eat and made a coffee date for the following week.
“Oh, wait. I saw your massage place on Queen Anne Avenue,” Erin realized. “Bodyworks?”
“That’s me,” Ivy said with pride. “You know, business is all about word of mouth. You need a massage, I’m your gal. You need a mechanic, Webster’s Garage won’t steer you wrong. Want a pet? I can hook you up there too.”
“Need to move? Use Vets on the Go!” Erin stuck a thumb in Smith’s direction.
Ivy’s eyes widened. “No kidding? He’s with Vets on the Go!? I saw that piece in the news about them. Didn’t one of the guys save some kid and his grandma from robbers?”
“I think so. That happened before I moved here.”
“Good to know. And what about you?” Ivy asked. “What are you selling? You said you have a cooking channel? What’s the website?”
Erin rattled off the URL, pleased and a little nervous to be treating her cooking gig as a real business. She’d always considered it her side project, hoping to grow it bigger. But the more she talked about it, and Smith talked about it, the more she realized how much she wanted to focus her efforts on that. The editing paid the bills, but her heart remained in her online kitchen.
Smith joined her side once more. After introducing him to everyone, they went back to visit Tilly.
She sat propped up in her bed dressed in a pale blue hospital gown. “Go ahead. Look your fill at the old lady who fell in a damn bathroom and had to be rescued off the toilet.”
Smith grinned. “Sounds pretty damn funny when you tell it like that.”
“Oh, shut up.”
Erin heard more than saw the humor and let herself relax.
