Ethan:Well, that sounded jealous.
Cas:Very jealous.
Grace:Extremely jealous.
Jace:Possessive even.
I immediately turn the group on silent and shove my phone into my backpack. “Should’ve been an only child,” I grumble.
No… wait.
Me and Jude.
He always minds his own business anyway.
By noon I check my phone again and sigh.
Seventy six unread messages in the Delulu Fam group chat.
The back door opens.
My head lifts just as Lexy walks into the bar.
Her hair is loose around her shoulders today instead of braided. She’s wearing her usual jeans and one of the Midnight Rodeo T-shirts Stephen gave her yesterday, the fabric tucked into the waistband like she’s been doing it her whole life.
She freezes when she sees me.
“Hello, Boss.”
“Just Dex.”
“Okay… hello, Dex.”
“Five minutes to start up, Tinker.”
My gaze shifts away before it can linger too long, the echoes of the group chat still sitting wrong in my head.
Then the tote bag comes to mind.
“Tinker,” I say, turning back to her.
“You’re never going to call me Lexy, are you?” She puts a hand on her hip, her full lips pursing as her blue eyes flash with something close to thunder, and it pulls a hint of a smile fromme before I can stop it. Her head barely reaches my shoulder, and the attitude on such a tiny person is… entertaining.
The remark gets ignored.
“My mama came by. Brought this for you… Tinker,” I add, just to watch that fire spark behind those ocean-blue eyes again.
She takes the bag but doesn’t open it. Just stares.
“Are you an asshole to all your employees, or is it just me?” she grumbles.
“You calling me an asshole, Tinker?”
A frustrated sound leaves her before she sighs and opens the bag.
She pulls out two pairs of jeans, three long-sleeved shirts, three T-shirts, two hoodies, and a pair of tennis shoes that don’t look used.
She turns the shoes over in her hands.
