"Fine," he echoes. "Come on, give us something. Is she as Type A at home as she is here?"
I think about the labeled bathroom cabinets. The laminated house rules with footnotes. The five-page packet of annotatedexamples. The way she stood in the kitchen this morning, clutching her coffee like a lifeline while I tested every single one of her boundaries.
"She's organized," I say.
Levi snorts. "Organized. That's code for something."
"She made a rule sheet," I admit.
All three of them crack up.
"Of course she did," Ace says, wiping his eyes. "How many rules?"
"Ten. With footnotes."
Kevin's trying not to smile. "Sounds about right."
"You know her well?" I ask, looking at him. Annoyed at how close they seem to be and hating the jealousy that’s flaring in my chest.
"Well enough." His expression shifts, turning serious. "She's a good person. Good friends with Rachel and Autumn. Been through some shit. Her ex-best friend cleaned out their joint savings account and bailed."
"I know."
His eyes sharpen. "She told you?"
"Came up when I moved in." I won't elaborate. Don't mention how her voice went tight when she said it, or the way she tried to play it off like it didn't matter.
Kevin studies me for a long moment, reading between every line. "People around here look out for her," he says. "Simon especially. If you hurt her, it'll be a problem."
"I won’t hurt her," I say.
“Plus, you have her rattled, and I think in a good way.” Ace laughs before he takes another swig of his beer.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask.
“When I went to my parents for lunch, Autumn was there talking about Ainsley’s new roommate, Troy, who has her all flustered. I can put two and two together.” Ace lets out a biglaugh, and now it all makes sense about why he invited himself along and his smile. “Ainsley is always so put together, so I had to see this for myself.”
Pleased that I have my woman flustered. Means I’m not working from nothing, but like hell I want these guys knowing anything that is going on between us. At least not until I can confidently say she’s mine.
“So what is there to do in this town?” I ask, like I give a shit, but we’re done talking about Ainsley.
"Fair enough. But again, don’t hurt her." Kevin takes a long drink, then glances toward Steph again. She's laughing at something a customer said, and his expression goes soft.
Levi clears his throat. "Okay, now that Kevin's done with his intimidation routine—"
"It wasn't intimidation," Kevin mutters.
"—can we talk about how Troy's been in town for two days and already has more proximity to a woman than the rest of us combined?"
"You're married," Kevin points out.
"Exactly my point," Levi says, grinning. "Rachel's going to lose it when I tell her about this."
I lean back on my stool, watching Kevin steal glances at Steph. "How long have you been waiting?"
Kevin doesn't pretend not to know what I'm asking. "A while. Since she left her ex."
"And you're not pushing," I say.
