Shane cleared his throat. “So…when do I get to meet the rest of the cult?”
I snorted. “You just did. That was the high priest and priestess.”
“No shit,” Shane said. “And the guy he mentioned—Whit? Another brother?”
“Mmhm.”
Shane hummed under his breath. “…would there happen to be a gay one?”
I let out a surprised laugh, leaning on my elbows. “You just got here, told me I’m in a cult, and now you want to join?”
“I’m just asking about availability!” Shane said. “That’s it.”
I shook my head, the grin on my face so wide it hurt mycheeks. “I think Whit’s head over heels for his best friend…but I can ask Beau about Holden for you.”
Shane arched a brow. “Holden, huh? Sounds broody. Does he own a bookstore? Have a tragic backstory?”
I laughed, full and loud, the kind that came from somewhere deep.
“He just moved back to town,” I said. “You’ll like him. He’s a mess.”
“Perfect,” Shane said, raising his mug in a toast. “To cult recruitment and emotional breakthroughs.”
I clinked mine against his. “To queer Hallmark movies and socket wrenches.”
Outside the window, Beau glanced back once before disappearing around the corner, Hazel still clutched against his chest like she belonged there. And maybe—just maybe—I did too.
For now, though, I let myself sit in the warmth of the diner, my best friend across from me, a half-eaten biscuit in front of me, and a future that didn’t feel so scary anymore.
CHAPTER 16
Beau
The grill was hot,the beer was cold, and for once, everyone I cared about was in the same damn place.
I’d never say it out loud—not to Silas, not to Rhett, sure as hell not to Whit—but this? This right here was what I’d always wanted. Not the party part, necessarily, but thesettledpart. Thetogetherpart. Silas with one arm around June while she laughed at something Miss Birdie Calhoun said. Rhett already in dad mode, flipping hot dogs with a spatula like it was his God-given calling. Even Holden had shown up, stiff as ever, standing in the corner like he wasn’t sure how to human anymore. Shane was talking his ear off, which was either a mercy or a threat, depending on how you looked at it.
And me? I was doing what I always did. Watching. Fixing things before they broke. Making sure the cooler stayed full, the propane didn’t run out, that Delilah didn’t actually murder Whit before the night was over.
It was supposed to be a housewarming party—maybe a low-key church mixer, if you asked June. But once Mabel found out they’d gotten courthouse married without telling asoul, she brought a stack of paper bells and a banner that saidJust Hitched!and then it was all over.
Miss Loretta made deviled eggs; Miss Francine brought a gift that we were all fairly certain was a sex toy, given the conspicuous way it was wrapped; Birdie brought an entire key lime pie and a bottle of bourbon she claimed was “for the punch,” but we all knew better.
Even Ivy, the barista from down at Sweet Briar, showed up—dragging her older brother Ash with her, visiting from up in D.C.
I took all of it in, inhaled it, breathed it out. The house echoed with laughter, voices,joy. Hazel was with the sitter, Willow was dancing with Jasmine Evers to the record playing from the corner…
…and Noelle was talking with June—her eyes wide, face animated as all hell, fully engaged.
She wasn’t shy anymore, not with my family. She was comfortable.
She was at home.
I’d seen her do the whole outsider thing before—watching from the edges, arms crossed, mouth tight, like she was waiting for a trap to spring. The first time she met my brothers, she’d barely let her shoulders drop. Kept checking her phone like it might buzz with a reason to leave. She hadn’t trusted any of it yet.
But now?
Now she was in the middle of it. Laughing with June like they’d known each other for years, waving off something Silas said with the kind of confidence that only came from knowing you were welcome. That you weren’t going anywhere.
