What had she meant? She’d meant that she didn’t want to deal with Evelyn’s passive-aggressiveness, explaining relationships to the boys, or having to have a talk with Gavin, since it affected the kids and they’d agreed—and
both had always communicated—whenever they’d had a change in their lives that merited that type of a talk.
“I’m really stressed-out at the moment.” The headache was starting to become more than just an annoyance. If she wasn’t careful, her morning would brew a full-blown migraine. She had no time for a migraine. “Now is not the right moment for this.”
“I think it’s a fantastic moment, myself,” Travis said, his dimple making an appearance, which caused heat to pool between her thighs. The headache receded a little, too.
They had been taking it slow. Well, slow everywhere but in the bedroom.
And that one time in the study. Also, the lake.
But that had just been once because they really could’ve gotten caught.
Although, maybe they weren’t taking it as slow as she’d thought.
“Can we keep it at just us right now? Until things calm down for me?” she asked, touching his chest because she could, and it was just so touchable. “Then talk about a plan to ease everyone in to you and me being a public us?”
“That depends.” He pressed a light kiss to her lips.
“On what?”
“Let me take you out tonight. Dancing. There’s a local place Dane says is great.”
Dancing. She hadn’t been dancing since Molly’s birthday two years ago. They’d all decided to try clubbing. They’d ended up spending twenty minutes at the actual club before evacuating to an Olive Garden because it was soup, salad, and breadsticks night.
“We have a problem with going out.” She sifted her fingertips through the still-damp hair on his scalp. “Someone here will notice we’re gone.” Or, to be precise, multiple someones.
“Already handled.”
He couldn’t just have it handled. That would be a lot of handling.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Mom and Dad don’t know it yet, but they’re taking the kids to a magic show at the Twin Lakes resort. Dane is going to cover for us here. I already asked him—bribed him—and he agreed.”
“Dane is good with us?” she asked. Ever since the night in the den, she hadn’t said a peep to him about it. He, likewise, had pretended it hadn’t happened.
“Dane is, officially, staying out of it,” Travis said carefully. “But I had somethin’ he wanted, so we negotiated.”
“What exactly did you have that he wanted?” she asked, cautiously.
Travis shrugged. “Some things are better kept between brothers and air traffic control.”
She shook her head with a bit too much force for trying to stave off a headache. “I’m not neglecting my clients again so you and I can go dancing.”
He did a push-up over the top of her. “Bring your phone and check it between songs. If we have to head back here, we can. I won’t say a word about it.”
“You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?” He grinned a shit-eating grin. “Just wait.”
CHAPTER 20
TRAVIS
The dirt parking lot wasn’t well lit at all—just the full moon above, the stars, and the light coming from a dilapidated old barn that could seriously use a coat of paint and new lumber, but did have a big, professional sign announcing the barn name as Come As You Are.
Under that was a piece of canvas hung along a thick rope with wide hand-painted letters announcing the evening as open mic night.
“This is it?” Rachel didn’t seem impressed.
