Page 30 of Newly Tied

Talia suddenly smiled at him. “Look at you with the growth right now.”

“Fuck off,” he told her, and she laughed loudly.

“You all okay down there?” Cheryl asked, checking on us.

“We are now,” Talia told her and stood up at the same time Lang did, and they hugged tight. She leaned heavily, and he squeezed her, hand on the back of her head, whispering in her ear. As everyone watched, she nodded and buried her face in his chest.

“Family business,” I told the table, and everyone looked bemused, watching the siblings.

“I don’t like anyone in my family that much,” Ashton confessed.

“I’m right there with ya, brother,” I replied, winking at him.

The food was amazing, and once everyone started eating and really talking, it was nice. Lang was his normal charming and engaging self, and I noticed Nicolette start to look at him differently, her gaze moving over him slowly, taking in the veins in his forearms when he took off his cuff links and rolled up his shirtsleeves, the muscles in his shoulders moving under his shirt, and of course, his laugh that was infectious and made everyone stare at him.

I had enjoyed the jerk chicken sandwich he’d ordered me, as well as my fries. Because I’d had a roast beef sandwich with extra horseradish for lunch, he wasn’t about to let me have any more red meat, which was thoughtful of him.

I was letting my food settle, watching the room around me, enjoying the thought that, as long as the meal was taking, I might be able to walk out with Cody directly.

“Why are you smiling?” Lang asked, leaning into me.

“I’ll be leavin’ with the waiter, so you’ll need to escort your sister home, sir.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yep. I have his number, and he’s off at midnight.”

He nodded. “Is that a good idea?”

“Is what a good idea, gettin’ laid?”

“Yeah.”

I squinted at him. “Hold up. You don’t think I should get laid?”

He glanced away.

“Hello.”

Turning back to me, he was silent.

“Don’t do the thing where you pretend you don’t know what you said.”

“What’d I say?”

I stared at him.

“Fine. And no, I don’t think you should have sex with that waiter. What if we want to come back here at some point? He’ll end up spitting in your food.”

Was he kidding? From his deadpan expression, I was thinking not. “Have you lost your mind? Why would Cody—that’s his name, by the way—be mad at me if we both get what we want? That makes no sense.”

“You don’t think that once he spends the night with you, he’ll want to keep you?”

“Of course not.”

“Why? Because you’re so lacking?”

I had no idea what was happening. “No, because if we’re both on the same page, we won’t have any miscommunication.”