Page 80 of All Tied Down

“I think his head is about to explode,” I stage-whisper to Emerson as Samson rubs the back of his neck. “Seriously, man, we’re a lot; you need to go and decompress.”

“It’s not that, it’s just… I was married and I didn’t have this much support. I didn’t have people who cared about my kids. I didn’t have options.”

“Well, you have a family here, Nico,” Emerson states. “Those men in the security office love your kids. Jace just took the polish off his nails today because it was chipping.”

“Thanks,” he says, the singular word holding more weight than an entire monologue. Standing together, Emerson and I watch as he gets into the car and drives down the road.

“So, about that full-service experience you mentioned…” she purrs, turning into me to press her full tits against my chest. Her soft curves fit perfectly with my hard lines, the anticipation of teasing her too much to consider as I pull us toward the house.

“Coming right up…”

31

EMERSON

“Ithink you should do an interview with Arden. She’s great,” I tell Garrett as we eat dinner at Agave Moon, a little Mexican restaurant in Ironwood. “Extremely professional and you can control the narrative you, Maverick, and Lachlan want to run.”

The walls of the restaurant are bright turquoise with orange and yellow accents. It’s fun and festive, and everything from the drinks to our meals has been fantastic. It’s definitely a hidden gem in Ironwood, and I wonder if I’ll ever come here after I move back to the city.

“I’ll think about it. She’s in Tennessee, right?” he asks, adding a scoop of salsa to his taco before taking a bite.

“Yes, she’s in Blackstone Falls but Isla knows her. She works for the local paper out there but has gained national recognition for the stories she’s done with Vetted Paws.” When he stares at me, I add, “It’s a veteran-run dog shelter. They take dogs from the surrounding states, kill shelters, and after natural disasters, and I think they’re expanding to another location soon.”

“I think I heard Isla mention something like that at Tom’s wedding.”

“She was one of the investors when they started.”

“That makes sense.”

“Arden was out here a while back with Kat talking about all her author things. She ran several stories.”

“Okay…”

“I’m just saying that she’s trustworthy.”

“And?” he prompts and I huff as I pick up my margarita.

“And Theo asked me to convince you to talk to her because he’s tired of chasing you around trying to nail down a date.”

Garrett smirks and his eyes sparkle with mischief. “I knew it.”

“Why do you mess with him like that? You know you’re completely screwed if he leaves you.”

“I know, but he loves me enough that if I did drive him to quit, it would only last a few days. He’d barge through the door with groceries and lecture me on how difficult I am and why I’m not allowed to be out in the world on my own.”

“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”

“It happened once.”

When I don’t reply, he laughs. “Twice.”

I can’t tell if I’m envious of their relationship or if I simply don’t understand it. Yes, Des and I work well together, but until I pried a little about Theo, we’d never crossed that line. Our relationship is strictly professional. He’s a confidant for work but we’re not friends.

“I could never,” I admit to him and he chuckles, his black shirt stretching against the muscles in his arm as he sets it on the table and leans in.

“And yet, you sent Des to our house for guys’ night.”

“It’s your house,” I correct because we both need the reminder considering our arrangement is already halfway over, “and I was doing Theo a favor.”