My voice is firm and to the point, and by her narrow eyes and tilted head, it’s clear she doesn't care for being told what to do.
“It’s fine.”
“Brooke, come on.”
“The guy I’m talking to is named Tony, he lives in a different small Wyoming town, and he enjoys Legos and iced coffee. Trust me, he is harmless.”
“Sounds like a whack job.”
I don’t have time to react before her pen hits me in the chest.
“Careful, Dutton. You almost sound like you care about me.”
Yeah, I fucking caught on to that, too.
I force my best smile.
“Hey, that’s what friends are for, right?”
She rolls her eyes again, but this time it’s with a genuine smile. “Exactly.”
Yeah … I’m going to need her to delete that app sooner than later.
Friends or not, if someone lays a hand on Brooke and she doesn't consent to it, I’ll kill ’em.
Chapter
Eight
BROOKE
The gossipin Lovers spreads just as quickly as I’d expected it to following Dutton’s truck being parked in my driveway for more than an hour last night. I’m just pulling out a fresh batch of blueberry muffins, a custom order to be picked up by Betty Banks, when the door to the kitchen swings open and my best friends, Sadie, Grace, Shay, and Quinn, burst through the door.
“Are you really friends with my brother?”
“Since when are you friends with Dutton?”
I knew the gossip in this town was going to be great. Let’s just hope it plays well into Dutton’s favor.
Despite the spike in my heartbeat—I can’t mess this up for Dutton or me—I set the tray down and act as normally as I can.
“Well, good morning to you as well,” I say, and put on my cheeriest smile.
“No, no, we're not skipping over the questions we just asked you.”
“That's fair,” I say and pull off my mittens. “Yes, Dutton and I are friends.”
Wow, I can't believe how easily that just fell out of my mouth. We spent one evening together and now I'm saying it as if it's the truest thing in the world, which technically it is because we aren't faking it.
“Since when?”
“Since it turns out we have more in common than we knew.”
I’m expecting more of a response from my friends, but all I get is stunned silence.
“I …” Shay begins, but then she closes her mouth and looks at the other girls.
Sadie shrugs and Quinn grins, but Grace folds her arms across her chest and steps closer to me. “I need more details.”
