“You two need to stop spending all your time with each other and start spending some time with us,” Nathan replied. “We’re feeling neglected, and you two are getting gross. It’s hurtful that nobody but a militant lesbian wants to spend time with me.”
I tried not to laugh but couldn’t stop myself. “I’m sorry the past two months have been so hard,” I said solemnly, not meaning a single word. “As for Hayley, I actually am sorry I’ve been neglecting you.” I shot Hayley an apologetic look. “It wasn’t purposeful.”
“I know.” She patted my hand. “I’m not as upset as this one.” She jerked a thumb toward Nathan. “I’ve actually enjoyed watching the two of you fall in love.”
I went ramrod straight. If I’d been sipping a drink, the phrase “fall in love” would have made me choke. I wanted to deny that we were in love, but I couldn’t muster the words.
Wait… are we in love?I didn’t even know what that felt like. I had no frame of reference. When I looked over at Brody, I found him watching me with unreadable eyes. He made no effort to correct the assumption.
I glanced down at my plate, a myriad of emotions rolling through me.Am I in love?It didn’t seem like a question as much as a foregone conclusion. I had no idea what I was supposed to do with that information. It was so odd.
“You guys can’t be hermits,” Hayley said. “We want to start having group outings.”
“We don’t even care if you climb each other like trees when we’re all out,” Nathan added. “I’m bored being on my own so much, though, and Hayley refuses to be my wingman at the bar.”
“I’m not going to watch you creep on some poor unsuspecting woman,” Hayley fired back. “I’m always going to warn her that you’re a pervert.”
“Some women like that.”
Hayley’s eye roll was pronounced. “If you say so.”
I tuned them out and lifted my eyes to Brody. He was watching me closely, and he had metaphorical hearts in his eyes. Yeah, we were in love. There was no question about it. Now, what was I supposed to do with that information?
ONCE WE PROMISED HAYLEY AND NATHAN THATwe would do better dispersing our time, they let us off the hook. I tried Brody’s conch fritters and actually liked them, and he rewarded me with an intense kiss that had Nathan making gagging sounds.
The more I settled with the idea of being in love, the more comfortable I got with the prospect. I’d never thought I would fall in love.Lovewas a word I associated with my mother, and not in a positive way. She never said she loved me. She threw the word around constantly when talking about her conquests, however. No wonder I didn’t have good feelings about the word.
Brody, however, somehow made that word magical. It wasn’t scary with him. It was the best thing ever.
So, yeah, I loved him. I still didn’t know what that meant for the long haul. For the first time, however, I was looking forward to figuring that out together. We were going to be okay because we had each other.
After dinner, already two cocktails deep, I was having a good time gossiping with Hayley between chats with readers when I caught a hint of movement out of the corner of my eye. When I looked up, I found Joey watching me from the far wall. Heleaned against it, his arms over his chest, and the way he looked at me made my skin crawl.
“What is with that guy?” Hayley asked when she recognized what had garnered my attention.
“I have no idea,” I replied on a sigh. “At first, I just thought he was a fan, but he keeps coming, and his only goal seems to be to make me uncomfortable.”
“Tell Annette,” Hayley ordered. “She’ll have him removed from the premises and banned from future events.”
“But he technically hasn’t done anything. I mean, he’s just standing there.”
That was the most frustrating part. He wasn’t being aggressive. I found everything he did creepy, but he had me second-guessing myself. Did I think he was creepy because I was predisposed to believe that, or was he really creepy?
“If you’re uncomfortable, that’s enough.” Hayley was militant. “You don’t have to be uncomfortable while doing your job. He’s been warned. He’s still doing it. He needs to go.”
I jerked my eyes to her. “What do you mean he’s been warned?” I certainly hadn’t said anything to him.
“He’s been warned,” Hayley repeated. “A few weeks ago, Brody and Nathan told him to stop making you feel uncomfortable. They caught him outside one of the venues. They weren’t rude but made it known they were aware of what he was doing. The fact that he’s still doing it proves he’s being creepy on purpose.”
I had no idea what to make of that and moistened my lips as I glanced over at Brody. He was on the other side of the room, looking as if he wished a UFO would drop down and abduct him. Of course, that likely had something to do with Blair sitting across from him. She had her notebook of death out and appeared to be droning on and on.
“He warned Joey?” I asked in a low voice. “Why didn’t he say something?”
Hayley shrugged. “I can’t answer that. I just know he was worried and wanted you to feel safe.” She leaned closer. “For the record, I think he’s a keeper. I’ve never seen you happier.”
“I’ve never been happier.” I hadn’t planned to say it out loud. The words just escaped me. I didn’t regret them.
“I know. Now we just need to get rid of your mother.”
