“I’ll help.” Bennett lurches to his feet, quickly retrieving the rest of the plates on the table to make a stack of his own.
Grayson says goodnight and ends the video chat, Nora sighing sadly as she closes the laptop. Gideon rises,silently ambling out to the porch with Rufus and Beau trailing behind. Nash meets my gaze and smiles. Simple. Content. Unguarded.
It’s such a different flavor from life in Los Angeles. The hurry. The hustle. The friends you can never quite trust. I used to think the pace made me strong. Now, I’m not so sure.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Nash
Bennett’s eyes glint with mischief from across the table. He knew what he was doing when he suggested I bring Lucy to dinner tonight. He knew she would fit. He knew that seeing the way she relates to my mother and brothers would make it impossible for me to deny what I’m feeling. Which is stupid because I’m not denying it.
I’m just not doing anything about it.
I run a hand through my hair and meet Lucy’s clear blue eyes as Stella and Bennett launch into some strange competition over who can clear my mother’s table the fastest. Lucy smiles and shakes her head at her friend. She pushes to her feet and follows Gideon and the dogs onto the porch, tossing a glance over her shoulder that lands like a hook in my ribs. She doesn’t say a word, justbeckons with two fingers and that look that knows exactly what it’s doing.
“Cornhole tournament!” Bennett calls when he steps out several minutes later. “Who’s in?”
Lucy laughs and lifts her cup. “Count me in.”
“Count me out,” I say, lowering myself onto the top porch as Lucy pouts.
“Come on, Doc. A little fun is good for the soul.”
“One day off crutches, kid. I’m not contributing to a secondary injury.”
“After weeks of hobbling around on crutches, I am so ready to hobble around in a boot.” Lucy sucks in her lips, looking utterly adorable. “Besides, I trust you to catch me if I fall.”
Bennett shakes his head, laughing quietly to himself. “She’s got your number, big brother!”
Beau barks like he agrees and Rufus rolls over with a groan, begging us to quiet down.
Lucy and I pair up. Bennett and Stella eye each other with disdain, looking to Gideon for help. He holds up his hands and sits back in his chair. “This is all you. Rufus and I prefer to watch.”
“We’ve done worse things together,” Stella says to Bennett with a wicked glint in her eyes.
“Name one,” he challenges, then hesitates. “Actually… don’t.”
The pause is brief but loaded. I don’t miss it. I’m not sure anyone could.
The game starts. Lucy lines up beside me, her stance a little uneven, booted foot turned out for balance. Sheraises an arm and throws with surprising accuracy. The bag lands just shy of the board, and she lets out an exaggerated “damn” under her breath.
“Not bad,” I say, keeping my voice neutral.
“Not great, either,” she mutters. “But you’ll carry us, right? Big strong doctor arms and all?”
I snort. “Flattery will get you nowhere.”
She shrugs then places her hand on my chest and leans close to whisper, “If that’s how you want to play it.”
The game rolls on. Every time I sink a shot, Lucy cheers and squeals, hugging me, leaning her head on my shoulder. “We’re so good together,” she calls to Bennett and Stella, ducking in close and pulling my arm over her shoulder, “that you two don’t stand a chance.”
Laughter, heckling, the dogs trying to eat the bean bags. At one point, Beau steals one and bolts, and Lucy can’t stop laughing while Bennett and I chase him around the yard. Her hair’s coming loose from the braid she wore to dinner, and I catch myself staring more than once.
It’s too easy. Too natural.
By the time Bennett sinks a winning shot and shouts in victory, I’m drowning in it. The way she looks at me. The way I feel when I look at her. The way she claps when we lose, turning to me with flushed cheeks and bright eyes like we won something anyway.
We spend the rest of the evening laughing and talking. Stella telling stories that make my mom laugh so hard she tears up. Gideon, quiet and guarded as ever. Bennett tossing in barbs that someone volleys back just as fast. And Lucy… she watches it all with wide, delighted eyes, like she’s been starved for this kind of noisy love.
