“Lark and I are…exploring some options,” he said, his voice as neutral as Lark had ever heard it. “If there’s something to say, I’ll say it.”
“Fair enough,” Bryce said as he put a piece of roll on his son’s tray. “These meatballs are incredible.”
“Thanks,” Cash said.
“Yeah, can I get the recipe?” Kassie asked. “I’ve been trying to branch out from my main four meals that we eat all the time.”
“Sure,” Cash said. “They’re fast and easy.” He pulled his hand away from Lark’s and cut a look to her out of the corner of his eye. She hadn’t finished eating yet, so she put her head down and focused on that, wondering if she could escape to her bedroom for a few minutes before the doughnuts came out.
An hour later,someone knocked on her slightly ajar door. “Larky?”
She turned from where she stood at the window to find Cash peeking in. “Yeah, I’m coming.”
The door swung open lazily as he pushed it with a couple of fingers, revealing himself and a paper plate with a beautiful Long John doughnut on it. “You don’t need to come out,” he said. “I just wanted to bring you a doughnut before Adam eats them all.”
“Hey,” someone—presumably Adam—protested. “I had two.” Sure enough, Adam crowded into the doorway with Cash, neither of them entering her bedroom. He smiled at Lark. “And they’re delicious.”
“I’m making some of the Black Forest ones, but I didn’t think you’d want one of those.” Cash took a step into the room and slid the plate onto Lark’s desk. “I brought you the one with cream cheese frosting.”
“The white chocolate is pretty good too,” Harry said, shoving his way into the trio and blocking Cash from leaving the bedroom. He licked his fingers and grinned at Lark. She hardly knew what to do with these three tall, dark-haired, broad-shouldered men. They’d clearly talked about her while she’d been gathering her chi, and she liked that they wanted her to feel comfortable.
“I said I’d come out when they were ready,” she said.
“Yeah, but he still doesn’t have your phone number to text you,” Adam said. “I told him I’d come get it from you, but he wouldn’t let me.”
“You said you’d be cool about this,” Cash grumbled, his face turning a shade of red that made Lark’s insides melt.
“Adam’s the picture of calm, cool, and collected,” Harry said. “He wouldn’t let me come by myself.”
“That’s because you’re a hot country music star who literally already dropped her jaw, and I can’t compete with that.”
“I’mmarried,” Harry said, rolling his eyes.
“You are still pretty hot for a married man,” Adam said, grinning at Harry.
“I knew I shouldn’t have come down this hall.”
“Why did you then?” Cash pressed his palm against Harry’s chest and pushed him out into the hall. “We’re fine here without you.”
Lark sat on the edge of her bed and waited for them to finish. Harry left; Adam looked at her, and Lark nodded. He seemed to know what that meant, and he clapped Cash on the shoulder. “Okay, well, I need another doughnut.”
“Donottouch the ones on the stove,” he said. “They’re for my family.”
“And Jet and Wade, I know.” Adam made his departure, and Cash sighed, dropped his head, and then finally turned toward Lark.
She held out her palm. He stared at it for a moment, then met her eyes. “What?”
“Give me your phone,” she said.
Cash entered the bedroom fully to do that, and Lark scooted over and made room for him on her bed. Thankfully, she’d been raised to make her bed before she left the room in the morning, and she’d done so today before church.
“Sorry,” he muttered. “I told you they were a lot.” He sat next to her and practically slapped his device into her palm.
She closed her fingers around it and looked at him. “I like them,” she said. “I just needed fifteen minutes of quiet, and Iwasgoing to come back out.”
“I know.” He reached up and tucked an errant lock of hair behind her ear. “I just thought you might like a few more minutes to yourself, and I wanted to see your reaction to the doughnut.”
Lark focused on his phone and adding her number to it. “Bring it over here, please.”
