“Maybe. He got you arrested, so that’s still a mark against him. Is he going to dump you in another sink full of dirty dishes tonight, or do you think he’ll actually treat you like a lady and rail you against a wall instead when he sneaks upstairs with you under the guise of getting a house tour from you?”
“His kids are here.”
“Yeah, and there are two security dudes who can keep them occupied.”
“And my brothers are here. Pretty sure you know for yourself how excellent they are at cock-blocking.” They already made him so uncomfortable at one point by pestering him about the new show he’s apparently writing this summer that I thought he was going to bolt. They backed off though and changed the subject when they realized he didn’t want to talk about it.
And I can understand it, even if I’ve never considered myself creative.
I’ve had my big dreams stolen from me. I can imagine Simon feels a protectiveness over his projects too.
“I can make a goat emergency happen in thirty seconds flat,” Daphne says. “They’ll be chasing Gustav and Rainbow and Merrick all over the farm.”
“You know Ryker hates it when people name his goats.”
She grins. “I’m willing to face his wrath if it means you finally get properly laid.”
“Just for fun,” I add.
“Well, duh, just for fun. You don’t want forever. You’ve made that pretty clear.”
I cringe. “Daph…”
She pins me with a look that has me glancing at the door to make sure we’re still alone. “What?” she says flatly.
“It’s just…I realized that my last three boyfriends happened when I was determined to just go have a fun time. So I’m starting to get worried that if we actually do this, I’ll think I’m in love with him.”
She grins broader. “Rocking chair test.”
“Hey, kids, want to hear about the time I figured out my vagina always convinced me one good night of sex meant he was my soulmate only for me to get my heart ripped out of mychest time and time again when it ended because my vagina is a lying dirtbag?”
“See? You identified a problem and learned from your mistakes! If I need to have a talk with your vagina about Simon not being your soulmate, I’m happy to. But she’s not a lying dirtbag. She’s a hopeless romantic. I’d rather have a hopelessly romantic vagina than a suspicious vagina, and I say that as someone who knows suspicious is a smarter choice.”
“Sometimes I wonder how I love you as much as I do, and then you go and say things like that, and I realize life wouldn’t be the same without you, and I do mean that the complimentary way.”
“You’re welcome.”
I’m smiling as I glance at the door again. “We should get back out there before they come looking for us and catch us having conversations about my hopelessly romantic vagina.”
She snickers.
I grab another scoopful of risotto for myself and follow her out the door, back to the table where Simon has noticed his kids aren’t eating too.
“Are you sure you’re not ill?” he asks Eddie, who’s beside him.
Eddie stretches and fakes a yawn. “I’m tired. Must be getting ready to sleep and grow a few inches.”
Charlie stretches and fakes a yawn too. “Same.”
“Is this when we mention the strawberry shortcake for dessert?” Daphne settles into her seat. “Bea, do that thing where you tell your brothers they can’t have dessert if they don’t clear their plates.”
“We don’t do the clean plate club,” Hudson says. “We do theeat until you’re not hungry anymoreclub.”
“I do theonly take as much as you’ll eatclub,” Ryker says.
“I can always eat more risotto.”
“And that’s why you’re not staying at my house tonight.”
