Sadie ignored his antics and turned to us. “Anyway. Yes, I do think I’ll be able to work with Lane. He seems like a good guy.”
“And Lane’ll be thrilled to work with you because you’re super smart and can probably do anything you put your mind to,” Rowdy said, loyal to his core.
She blushed again. “Thanks, Rowdy.”
And for as much as Sadie had tried to brush off what Jaxon was saying about Lane, on this side of the call, we could see that he was onto something. The flush of first interest looked good on my new friend. So many things had been so precarious for those two for so long, and I was grateful to see the impact of stability, mere hours after they’d arrived at Kit’s place.
We made arrangements to see them later in the week, then headed out for a quick dinner at the new cafe on the square. The food was excellent, but the company was better. I recognized a few faces, and a couple folks stopped by to chat with us.
No one said anything about the fact that we were obviously on a date together, but every single one of them seemed genuinely happy for Rowdy.
We walked hand-in-hand around the square, picked up a charm for Stevie’s bracelet, and then headed home. We pulled into the driveway to find Woody astride Shadow, pointing to his and Emery’s house. Less a request and more a demand.
“Oh shit.” Rowdy grimaced as I pulled in next to Emery’s new EV truck.
“Woody makes me nervous on a good day. You can’t go around saying ‘oh shit.’ Is he gonna try to beat me up?” I asked, elbowing him. “I thought he was cool with us.”
I mean, I could take him, of course. But not without a fight.
“He is,” Rowdy said, though he didn’t sound convinced. “Just remember that a glare is a sign of affection from my cousin.”
“Great.”
Rowdy and I got out of the car as Woody dismounted and tied Shadow up to the hitching post, which meant he still had work to do. Hopefully that meant whatever this was wasn’t going to take long.
Thankfully, Emery and Stevie joined us right as Woody did.
Woody pushed his tongue against his lower lip, and Rowdy held his hand up. “We’ve already hashed it out, cousin. I don’tneed any more of your opinions on me and Kess, especially since I had to hear you bitch and complain about the new neighbor, and then come to find out you’d been fucking him the entire time.”
Emery put his hands over Stevie’s ears. “Could you not?”
Rowdy grimaced. “Sorry. Just saying.”
Stevie pulled away from her dad’s hands. “I’ve heard the F word before, Dad. And he’s not lying. You were both complaining about each other and secretly going after it. Of course, Rowdy and I always suspected.” She looked to me. “Just as I always suspected you loved Rowdy.”
I put my arm around my feisty boyfriend. “How could I not? He’s the best.” I said, looking down at him as he looked up at me.
“Oh, gross,” Stevie said, looking like a puke emoji. “We were going to invite you to pasta night as a couple, but if y’all are going to be this gross, I would prefer if you faked it again.”
Emery laughed. “I think we’re all allowed to be a little gross in love. Besides, I happen to think Rowdy has excellent taste in men.”
Woody looked at the side of Em’s head like he was crazy. “What the fuck does that mean?”
Emery rolled his eyes. “I can think that my best friend is a catch without it meaning anything.”
I’d discovered a while ago that Woody’d thought Emery and I had some sort of arrangement. That misunderstanding had made him jealous as a mothertrucker back then, and it was funny to see that he still carried a little jealousy in him. Emery stood a little taller and pulled Woody into a saucy kiss.
My best friend loved it when his guy got a little jealous.
“See what I have to deal with every day?” Stevie said, burying her face in her hands. “At some point, Rowdy’s going to move into Kess’s house, and I’m calling dibs on the cabin because I can’t stand any of y’all.”
I pulled Stevie in for a big hug. “Fine, but I’m keeping that goddamn headboard.”
Stevie cursed under her breath.
“Wait, does my goddaughter need a headboard?”
“Need?” she asked, stroking her chin. “No. But am I jealous of the awesome headboard you made for Rowdy, of all people? Yes.”
