Tanner grinned and squeezed her hand under the table. “Frost,” he repeated, nodding. “That’s the perfect name. Strong, clean, and a little sweet. I’m with Junie on this one.”
“I like it too. It’s a great name.” Joy swung her head back and forth in thought. “What do you think, Daddy?”
“I actually kind of like it,” Chance responded.
Joy clapped and bounced on her seat. “Frost it is then, thanks, Junie, I’m pretty sure you saved my as?—”
“Joy!” Chance cut her off.
“My assets,” Joy protested, eyes sparkling with mischief. “I was going to say my assets.”
“Oh, good save,” Kenzie said, giving her a thumbs-up.
Kenzie sat next to Seven, who had one arm draped possessively over the back of her chair like he had every right to be there. The second the horse naming talk died down, she reached behind her and shoved his arm off.
“For the last time,” Kenzie snapped, “keep your arm off my chair.”
Seven didn’t miss a beat. He simply rested his arm right back where it had been, his voice smooth and unapologetic. “After the stunt you pulled last night, you’d better hope it stays on this chair, Tigger.”
“It’s Kenzie or Tiger.” Kenzie crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. “You should have just let me spend the night with Poppy when we dropped her off. And you had no business waking Boone up and tattling on me. He’s my brother, not my Daddy. I’m only agreeing to be grounded for a whole week because I have things to do at the ranch.”
Boone’s deep growl rumbled from further down the table. “He was perfectly right in informing me. And you got off easy, Tiger.”
Seven leveled Kenzie with a steady, no-nonsense glare. “At least you aren’t eating standing up right now. Which is exactly what would have happened if I’d dealt with you myself.”
Ruby’s sharp voice cut across the table like a schoolmarm’s ruler. “That kind of talk has no place at the table. Especially not in a restaurant. Y’all know better.”
The group immediately quieted.
“Sorry, Miss Ruby,” Seven muttered. He looked properly chastised, but Junie caught his lips twitching as he stared at his plate.
“Sorry, Ruby,” Kenzie echoed, cheeks flushed.
Boone gave a sheepish nod. “You’re right. Won’t happen again.”
During a lull in the conversation, Tanner leaned in close, his lips brushing Junie’s ear. “You doing okay, Cupcake?”
She nodded, eyes bright. “I like this. Being here with you… with everyone. Though, I feel bad about getting Kenzie in trouble.”
“Good. But don’t worry too much about Kenzie. She is right about Boone not being her Daddy. But we all still look out for her.” He pressed a kiss to her temple, voice dropping to that low, swaggering tone only for her. “You know, I like you being here, too, little baker. And I’m gonna make sure everyone knows it.”
Junie shivered happily and leaned into his side as another round of laughter roared from the other end of the table. She didn’t laugh along this time. She just sat there with a quiet, contented smile, Tanner’s hand warm and steady in hers.
For the first time in years, everything felt exactly right.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The bell over the bakery door jingled as Junie wiped down the counters a few days later. Her stomach dropped like a stone the second she looked up. Preston stepped inside wearing an expensive coat that probably cost more than her monthly rent.
Preston. In her bakery. In person. As if this day hadn’t started on a bad enough note.
He carried a small black box tied with a perfect silver ribbon, his smile smooth and confident, as if he had every right to stroll into her bakery—intoherspace—whenever he wanted. Did he really think she’d be happy to see him? Grateful, even?
“Juniper,” he said with a smile.
Smiling, she cringed on the inside. His voice was always warm on the surface, but carried a sharp, underlying edge that always made her skin crawl and her shoulders want to curl inward. And why the heck couldn’t he call her Junie like everyone else?
“I couldn’t wait for delivery this time. I wanted to give you this myself.”
