“Good morning!” he sings out, looking freshly blown.
“Dude,” Wick says, his grin damn near reaching his ears. “We thought foroncewe’d hired a straight person on the ranch.”
Abel looks at us with one eyebrow cocked. “Straight? I don’t know her.”
Wick gestures his arms wide. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
“Y’all don’t need to know my sordid history. But don’t be jealous, Wick,” Abel teases, grabbing a second cup for his girlfriend, who almost certainly needs it after last night’s shenanigans. “Not my fault the walls here are so thin.”
I dare not look at Warwick, knowing he and I also got a little loud last night. Just after he hugged me from behind while fucking me. Right around the time my heart took yet another swan dive into deep waters.
I just hope Luke never finds out.
* * *
“You let him fuck you?Are you a masochist, or did you somehow miraculously fall out of love with him since the last time you two fucked?”
I never was very good at keeping the truth from my friend.
“Wait…you already know I have feelings for Warwick?”
Shaking his head, Luke pats my arm. “Well, you slept with him a whole bunch of times when you first got here, then you slept with him a few more times after you were hired, and hell, you even sleptin his beda couple of times. I’ve never seen you do that.”
I think about waking up in Wick’s arms early this morning and shiver. Turning to Luke, I ask what feels like a pretty obvious question. “Then why didn’t you say nothin’ to me?”
He opens his mouth and kinda shrugs. “I…I was new in love and thought everyone around me should feel this good. Thought it was happening for you.”
“Itwashappening for me. Just not for him. So now I have all of these feelings, and I have no idea where they’re supposed to settle. I can barely let a stranger touch me these days.”
“And how do you feel about Joaquin moving in?”
I work my jaw and come up with the only truthful thing I can say at the moment. “I think it’s gonna be great for the ranch.”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it. You know he and Warwick have a similar history.”
I fiddle with the mug of coffee in my hands. “I believe Joaquin and Warwick will keep it professional.”
Luke snorts.
“Why’re you snorting at me?”
“I’m not snorting atyou, you big, dumb fuck. I’m snorting at the idea that those two can keep their hands off each other. Have you not seen them in the same room together?”
“Fuckingouch,” I snarl out, wondering why the fuck I came over here in the first place.
Luke grimaces and gives me a hug. “I’m sorry, buddy. That came out a little sideways. I just…you’re one of my favorite people in the whole damn world, and I don’t wanna see you get sideswiped if they start goin’ at it again.”
“Yeah. Saw the spectacle, got my heart broken, bought the T-shirt. Don’t need the reminder.”
Luke scratches his chin, disbelief evident in his expression. “I think having Joaquin as foreman is great because he’ll get up to speed very quickly. But there’s a tiny part of me that wants to bet on when this whole train comes off the tracks. It smells like the makings of a disaster to me.”
“What smells like a disaster, love?” Sparrow asks, palming Luke’s tiny butt as he joins us on the front porch.
“Oh, nothing,” Luke purrs, smiling at his man before kissing his cheek.
Sparrow raises his brow and sets his jaw, looking down at Luke until he gives in. “Fine. I think Warwick and your father won’t be able to keep their hands off each other. And I think there’s a tiny chance that some of this might blow up in their faces.”
Sparrow grimaces, then pulls Luke’s hat off his head to reel him in for a proper kiss. They share a look that blisters the paint on the front door before Sparrow turns to me.
