Mac lifted a shoulder. “I feel the same way every time I see Hudson fly off in a helicopter or lead a group hikin’ tour, all competent and in charge…”
“Same goes,” Hudson murmured, his eyes focused on his wife—and, yeah, they were definitely the sex eyes everyone had been accusing her of having.
“Yep.” Nash leaned back in his chair, resting it on two legs. “Every time a client gets mouthy and Rory puts ’em in their place without them havin’ a clue what's happenin’… Well, let's just say quittin’ time is usually a little earlier on those days.”
“Not if those days are you building or demoing,” Rory said, clearly having already finished two glasses of wine, her lips a little looser than she’d normally allow.
“I think it's really weird y’all just told me what makes you wanna bone your partners,” Nat said.
The group laughed, and Mac shook her head. “We were just tryin’ to make you feel like less of a pervert.”
Nat dropped her mouth open in a huff. “Are you kiddin’ me? Y’all’re the ones who’ve been cataloguing my sex eyes. If anyone’s a pervert here, it sure as hell isn’t me.”
Before anyone could retort, Finn strolled up to the table with Lily, and all the attention was suddenly on the newest addition to the Haven family—another female to continue the streak. By the grace of God, their daddy had managed to keep his mouth shut when he’d found out he’d be having yet another granddaughter, but Nat had been sitting right next to him and witnessed the red, blotchy mess of his face. She guessed it said something about how he’d grown as a person that he’d managed to bite his tongue and keep the words that were no doubt screaming in his mind at bay. Despite Lily not being the boy Richard Haven had clearly hoped for, she’d been showered with a plethora of love from the day she’d been born. She was still a tiny button of a thing, sweet as pie with a headful of dark brown hair that was disproportionate to the rest of her.
“Gimme her,” Rory said, holding her arms out toward Finn and flapping her hands as if unable to wait another second to snuggle their niece.
But Finn just turned away, cradling Lily against his chest, and narrowed his eyes on his sister-in-law. “Nice try, drunkie. If you wanna hold your niece, stay sober next time.”
“Oh, please, I’m perfectly fine!” Rory said, except as she gestured to show just how fine she was, she knocked a straw out of one of the water glasses, causing everyone to roar with laughter.
Finn simply raised an eyebrow. “Like I said.”
“I’m with my husband on this one, Rory,” Will said unapologetically.
“See if I offer to babysit next time y’all want a night out.” Rory sniffed, her mouth set in a firm line, but it melted mere seconds later. “I’m just kiddin’. I still get first dibs.”
“As long as you lay off the sauce…” Finn said. “But you can’t have first dibs. Between you and your sisters, your parents, my brother, and my momma, Lily’s got people fightin’ for her left and right.”
“As they should,” Will said in a baby voice before pressing a kiss on Lily’s forehead.
They were great parents—the two of them attentive and caring without being smothering. Nat had anticipated it from her sister, but not so much from her brother-in-law, the former bad boy. But he’d slipped effortlessly into fatherhood like Asher had. Like Nash had, too, for all intents and purposes. It was strange to see these bigger-than-life men fall under the spell of the kids they loved. Strange but entirely swoonworthy.
“You ready, Willowtree?” Finn asked, settling Lily into her car seat before buckling her in.
“Yeah.” Will smiled and zipped up the over-stuffed diaper bag. “It’s almost bedtime for her. Plus, we should get her out of here before Asher starts.”
Though Asher only ever played acoustic so the music wasn’t too loud, the crowd could get a little obnoxious on these nights. Especially when it seemed as if all of Havenbrook popped in for the show.
“Y’all headin’ out?” Nola, Finn’s close friend and the third partner of the bar, strolled up to their table, resting her hands on the back of Mac’s chair.
“As long as y’all’re okay for the night?” Finn glanced around at the crowded space, his gaze snagging on Drew who darted around behind the bar, filling orders as he laughed and talked with the patrons.
Nola rolled her eyes and pointed toward the door. “Leave. Drew and I can handle it. Plus we can always bribe Mac to hop behind the bar again, for old time’s sake.”
Mac shrugged. “If there are free drinks in it for me, I’m all yours.”
“All right then.” Finn hefted the car seat off the table before grabbing the diaper bag from Will’s hands and shouldering it with ease. Then he snapped his fingers and turned back to Nola. “Oh, hey, did that guy find you tonight?”
“What guy?” Nola asked with a pinched brow.
Finn shrugged. “No one from around here. Came in wearin’ a suit. Didn’t leave a name, but he knew yours.”
“Everyone knows my name.”
“Yeah, but the ones who live around here know not to use it.”
Ah, he must’ve meant her full legal name and not the nickname she’d gone by the entirety of the time Nat had known her. Nola was a lot like her in that way—if someone used something other than her nickname, they better have a damn good reason for it.
