“What the fuck?” Beck stammers, while Dottie beelines around him to greet all the new people. “Dottie, bite this one,” he says as Callie kneels down to pet her.
Callie goes into her baby voice. “Oh no, sweet girl would never.”
Lucie walks right up to me and hooks her arm around my shoulder. “We’re actually here for this one. I knew she would try and bail on girls’ brunch, but alas, today is mandatory.”
“Pushing it, Luce,” I grit out.
Her smile doesn’t waver. “I promise it’ll be worth it.”
No, no, no. I’d rather not go right now.
Beck must read that thought all over my face. “Guys, seriously? This couldn’t have waited a day?”
A chorus of “no” comes from them all. Wonderful.
I let out a deep sigh. “It’s fine, just give me ten minutes.”
My butt barely leaves the stool before Beck turns bossy. “No, sit down. I made plenty of cinnamon rolls, you all want Jensen for brunch, you can have it here.”
I could fake a fight and spare Beck from whatever this brunch is they absolutely could not wait for, but I don’t want to leave. I wait for rebuttals from the girls, but with the tone Beck just had, I think they all know it isn’t an up-for-debate statement.
“Alright,” Lucie says as she unwraps her arm from my shoulders. “I’m still throwing up everything I eat, so it makes no difference to me.”
Everyone else shrugs and nods as they all grab a spot around the island.
Beck huffs some words low under his breath that I can’t understand then goes to get more plates.
“This place is nice, Beck,” Reagan says, looking around. “You might be taking the top spot on my list.”
“Your list?” Callie asks with raised eyebrows.
“Yeah, the list of Will’s teammates who are worth talking to. You know, Dex is pretty high up there, because, well”—Reagan gestures to Lucie—“but other than that, I want them to impress me. Cool cars, nice homes, and what not.”
Lucie scoffs. “Rea, that’s terrible. They’re all great. You shouldn’t rank them on material things.”
Gah, these two couldn’t be more different if they tried.
“Of course, I can. I’m a material girl, Madonna song and all. Plus, Beck’s getting bonuses for all the plants he has and they look good—like he actually knows how to take care of them. As a florist, he’s topping the list.”
“Andhe’sstanding right here,” Beck says as he hands Reagan a plate then starts around the table. “I do know how to take care of my plants, but I do have to credit my housekeeper some as she helps take care of them during the season.”
Reagan looks impressed by his honesty, and if I didn’t know she was in a completely loyal and loving relationship with her girlfriend for over a decade…the look she gives him would put a very green complexion on me.
Great, apparently on top of a secret crush, I’m territorial too. I don’t remember feeling this way with my ex—surely I did. Thoseminefeelings must have been overshadowed by his controlling, judgmental ones.
I clear my throat. “So, what couldn’t wait that we need to talk about?”
Lucie gives a little squeal as she pushes her plate away. “There’re two pieces of info that we need to talk about, really. The most prevalent one is that I think Reagan and I have thought of a way to get you your own tattoo shop!”
I blink slowly as I process her words. “I think I’m going to need some more information.”
Having my own tattoo shop would be an absolute dream, but that’s also a dream I never thought of right out the gate.
Luce spins in her chair to face me. I can see the pure love of this idea written all over her face. “Okay, Reagan found a place that’s perfect for her floral storefront, but the catch-22 is that it’s essentially broken up in rooms. There’s extra space that’s really not needed, but the rent price is a whole package deal kind of thing. So, when we were having our family meeting about it, it came to me. Why not have you take some of that space? Essentially, you guys could have a floral-tattoo shop!”
My eyes twitch immediately, wanting to look at Beck for some inkling of how this sounds to him too, but instead, I lean around Lucie to meet Reagan’s eyes. “More info from you, actually.”
Reagan laughs and sets her fork down. “I know it sounds out there, but the vision could be really cool. I’ve looked all over Boston, and this storefront is truly spectacular. It’s got thatsignature brownstone and gorgeous bay windows. It’ll need a few adjustments to make it work for the floral shop, but it’s more space than I need. There’s a back section we could renovate into a break room, my freezer, and workshop for big events. For the two street view rooms, it could be really cool to have a walk-in floral shop on one side then a tattoo parlor on the other.”
