Just like I was trying to save her from Joey. “Oh.” This was going to be a tense moment, but I was happy hearing the news. “That’s kind of sweet, huh?”
Nathan rolled his eyes. “Yes. You guys are adorable. Let’s deal with this guy and get back to the adorableness, huh?”
I nodded. This had to be done. Bree needed to feel safe. “Yeah. Let’s get it over with.”
Joey didn’t look up until Nathan and I were directly in front of him. He seemed surprised at first then offered up a cocky grin. “Are you boys going to jump me?” It was almost as if he was daring us to do just that.
“No.” I shook my head. “We’re not here to cause trouble.” I’d thought about this long and hard and knew exactly how I wanted to approach things. “I just want to make you aware of something you probably don’t realize.”
I was putting the onus of this situation on him. He wouldn’t be able to claim that he didn’t know Bree was uncomfortable with his presence. Especially since Nathan was filming the conversation. That hadn’t been part of the original plan, but I was grateful he’d thought to do it. Now we would have proof toshow the organizers if Joey did something. We would be able to boot him.
“And what’s that?” Joey folded his arms.
“You’re making Bree uncomfortable. I’m sure that’s not your intention.” I spoke in an utterly reasonable way. “You have to understand that as a man, it’s not okay for you to back her in a corner in a hallway or invade her personal space.”
“Excuse me?” Anger lined Joey’s features.
“Just don’t try to box her off, and if she walks away, let her walk away,” I continued. “This is an event for the readers. We want it to be fun for everybody. That includes the authors.”
Joey glowered at me. He didn’t like being singled out. I honestly didn’t care.
“Thanks for understanding,” I said in a faux-bright voice. “I hope you enjoy your evening.”
With that, Nathan and I turned away from him and headed inside. It hadn’t been a threat, but it had been a warning. Joey needed to know we were watching him and no more of his shenanigans would be allowed. Ideally, he would lose interest and leave. I doubted that would happen, but now, if he tried to make Bree uncomfortable, we had the video to show the organizers.
I would get him banned if it came to it. I wouldn’t feel bad about it either. I needed her to feel safe. That was my sole goal. However it needed to happen, I would do it. She was that important to me.
23
TWENTY-THREE
Once the kids swooped in to take over the pool, our writing afternoons shifted. We didn’t find a place outside that worked for either of us, so we started writing on my patio. At the same table. It wasn’t nearly as distracting as I’d thought it would be.
We wrote all week together. We didn’t even talk except during breaks. I was comfortable with Brody in a way that I’d never felt with anybody else. Since we hadn’t put a label on our relationship, I didn’t feel any pressure. That was deliberate on his part, which I was well aware of, although I was sure he believed I was in the dark.
I knew. I just didn’t want to rock the boat. I hadn’t been this happy since… well, ever. It was humbling and exciting. I didn’t know where things were going, but I was comfortable with where they were. For now, that was enough.
Weekends, which used to be for writing or getting caught up on administrative tasks, were now for adventures. Brody was a big fan of tours. He’d been on most of them before but was gung-ho to participate a second time. Since I’d never been, I was excited as well. There was little I loved more than a ghost tour.
We’d taken to making day trips into the city. We Ubered because it was easier than navigating traffic. Plus, it allowed us to drink and not worry about it. Most of the time, we headed downtown in the afternoon, had dinner, then went on a night tour. It was delightful.
Brody spent most of his time watching my reactions to the tours, but I pretended I didn’t notice. He was attentive in a way I hadn’t known existed before hooking up with him. None of my mother’s would-be suitors had ever treated her the way he treated me. It got me to thinking, and I expressed my feelings on the subject during one weekend excursion.
“I think I’ve been anti Man my whole life,” I said as we got comfortable in the open-air hearse that would be our home for the next few hours. When Brody had told me there was a hearse tour—one he’d never been on—I’d been excited beyond belief. It didn’t hurt that he was just as thrilled.
“What?” He cast me a confused sidelong look.
I laughed. “I’m being serious.”
“You don’t like men?”
“No, I’m saying that I’ve been suspicious of men.”
“And now you’re not?”
It wasn’t as easy a question to answer as it should have been. “I’m not suspicious of you,” I said finally.
He laughed and took my hand. “That’s a good thing.”
