“Yeah, sure,” he chuckled. “Your ‘cooking.’”
If I was tired, it was only in body. My spirit itself was soaring. I loved being here, being included, being a part of the guys’ daily lives. I was bonding hard with Bodie, and finally starting to figure Sawyer out. Even Carter was opening up to me, on occasion, when he wasn’t too busy looking out for my own life. With a little reluctance, he even told a few of the things that were going on with the bar. Specifically, how The Refuge’s clientèle had dwindled over the years and decades, the further removed it became from the founders who’d built the place.
Speaking of which…
“Hey…” I murmured, planting another soft kiss against his smooth, warm skin. “What if I told you I had an idea for you?”
The hand playing with my ass stopped for a moment. He seemed genuinely intrigued.
“What sort of idea?”
“The kind of idea that might bring a whole bunch of new customers into your bar.”
Carter paused for a moment. He sat up a little.
“For real?”
“Yes, silly,” I chuckled. “Of course for real.”
“How would you do it?”
I settled deeper into the crook of his arm and let out another long sigh.
“You’re just gonna have to trust me,” I told him.
“Trust you.”
“Yes.”
He inhaled deeply, filling his lungs. It made his chest expand, the muscles flexing beneath my cheek.
“Okay, fine,” he grunted. “I trust you.”
I craned my neck to look up at him. “Do you?”
Carter paused, considered me for a moment, then shrugged. “Yes. Actually, I do.”
“Alright, then,” I said excitedly. “I’ll take care of the general announcement, the forum posts, maybe an Instagram ad or two…” My eyes lit up. “Oh! And some other quick marketing. A couple dozen fliers…”
“Fliers?”
“Yes,” I grinned. “I’ll do all that, though. You plan for everything else.”
Still incredulous, Carter swore under his breath. “How the hell can I plan for something when I don’t even know what it is?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll fill you in later,” I winked. “I’ll talk to Sawyer and Bodie ahead of time, too. Clear some room at The Refuge, though. Maybe move all the tables off to one side.”
His eyesbrows scrunched together. “Move thetables?”
“Yes, definitely.”
He looked suddenly worried. “Wait! You’re not planning on creating a dance floor or anything like tha—”
“Carter?” I cut him off.
“Yes?”
“You said you trusted me, right?”
