“Okay, first of all?” Lucas lifts a finger. “I highly doubt Dom…” He fans himself, just a little. “Whew! I doubt he’d go through all this effort with the friend group, with Jaxon, just to screw with you for sport. That’s not a casual move.”
“Feels familiar,” I say quietly. “Feels like Pierre all over again. Get close, get information, get gone.”
Lucas’s expression softens. “Hey. Look at me.” I do. “Pierre targeted you. That’s what predators do. Dom is… from everything you’ve told me? A grumpy golden retriever in a hot body. Different species.”
I huff. “You’re going to meet him. And the whole circus. Tomorrow. At the kids’ carnival.”
Lucas blinks. “Excuse me. Come again?”
“Oh, yeah.” I take a long pull of my beer. “Welcome to Maine. You’re meeting the family.”
“I can’t believeI’m out in public wearing this outfit,” Lucas hisses.
“You look fine.”
“Fine! I lookfine? Herein lies the problem. The wordfine!”
I laugh as we step out of my car onto the gravel lot. Lucas is just upset because he doesn’t, and I quote, “own carnival attire.” So I lent him a nice pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
“So you’re saying my clothes are only fine? I gave you my nicest shirt.”
“And a very nice shirt it is, babe. It just doesn’t go well with these shoes.”
“It’s not my fault you wear penny loafers twenty-four seven.”
Lucas rolls his eyes at me. “Come on, introduce me to this hunk of a tattooed god who has your briefs all in a bunch.”
“Who also kissed me and ran away—let’s not forget that detail. God, he can be such a boneheaded dick sometimes.”
“Ohhh, then you can make him grovel.”
We walk into the carnival, and it’s bigger than I expected: kids sprinting everywhere; laughter ringing across the field; a Ferris wheel turning, slow and pretty; booths lined up with games, food, crafts; a petting zoo; and what looks like a three-legged race in progress.
“Wow,” Lucas breathes. “Sothisis what a carnival actually looks like.”
“It’s more small-town charity carnival than full-blown theme park,” I say. “But it’s perfect. Matthew House puts it on every year—it’s a local organization that supports queer kids, run by Marcus and Jacob. Marcus invested in Alex’s gaming company, and Alex is Jaxon’s boyfriend.”
Lucas blinks. “I’m going to need a dot-org chart.”
I spot the Ink Me tent Jaxon has set up. He had the idea of doing temporary tattoos for the kids. I absolutely love the idea, and so did Marcus and Jacob. Olly has a cupcake stand around here somewhere that we need to check out too.
“Hey, guys,” I call as we walk up. Looks like most of the crew’s here, plus Marcus. “This is my friend from Los Angeles, Lucas. Lucas, this is… everyone.”
There’s a round of greetings and handshakes.
“Lucas, how’s it going?” Finn says, coming in for a hug. “I can’t believe you’re here. Never thought I’d see you out of the big city. And that outfit is…”
“Shut it, Finn,” Lucas cuts in. “Beckett failed to mention there was a dress code for carnivals.”
“Is that even a thing?” I hear Dom mutter to himself as he shoots daggers at Lucas. Marcus, on the other hand, has a look of intrigue.
“Well, it’s very nice to meet you,” Jaxon says.
“Likewise,” Lucas replies smoothly. “I’ve heard a lot about Beckett’s infamous group of friends.”
“Well, I’m glad you could join us. I hope you take the time to look around and join in on the fun.”
“I might do that. In fact, I saw someone earlier who was selling lotions and soaps, so I need to investigate.”
