Page 101 of The Last Goodbye

She squealed and turned to Briar. “Will you come, too?”

“Sure. That sounds fun.”

“Uncle B, your girls are going to the water with you.” Clover reached for some bacon and took a bite.

It was a good day.

Maybe the best one I’d had in a very long time.

“Are you sick of me yet?” I asked Briar as we walked to Phoenix’s house. We were all meeting for game night, so I’d ordered dinner from my restaurant and had it delivered to his house.

“It’s only been a week, so it’s too early to tell,” she said, her hand grazing mine as my pinky finger hooked around hers, and I didn’t let go. This was still very new, but we were spending a lot of time together now, which I think surprised us both. “How about you? Is this getting old to you?”

“Surprisingly, no.” I chuckled. “Even when you pissed me off about walking alone at night when I specifically told you I’d meet you at your house—I’m still all in.”

The truth is, I wasn’t remotely tired of our situation. I looked forward to seeing her every day, and even a smile from Briar could change my whole mood. When I was with her, we were always laughing and having a good time, and I…liked it.

More than I wanted to admit.

Hell, when she wasn’t around, I missed her. I wasn’t about to admit that to her, because I knew it would scare the shit out of her.

Because it scared the shit out of me.

“Well, seeing as I’m a grown woman, and I don’t need an escort to walk two blocks to meet you—I can see why you’d get over it quickly. It’s a ridiculous thing to get mad about, even for a brute.” She bent my finger back the slightest bit to make her point, and I yelped before she stopped twisting it.

“I’m so sorry that I’d like the woman I’m seeing to be safe. What an asshole I am,” I said, feigning annoyance.

“You are a sexy asshole, though.” She peeked up at me. “So, we’re doing our first group outing where we arrive together. How do you feel about this?”

“Listen, they’ve been accusing me of liking you since you arrived in town. They suspected things were happening before and after anything actually did. So I feel fucking great. How about you?”

“I mean, you did drop to your knees in the shower before we got dressed to come here tonight. I’d say I’m feeling damn good myself.”

“I’d drop to my knees right here in the middle of the fucking street, if you’d let me. That’s how much I enjoy burying my face between your thighs.” I shrugged and glanced over at her to see her cheeks flaming a dark shade of pink, which made me laugh.

She came to a stop and turned to face me. “You can’t talk like that when we’re around other people. Tighten it up, McGrumpy. Leave the dirty talk outside of game night, please.”

“But you like it, don’t you?” I tugged her against my chest, and she tipped her head back to look at me.

“I like you,” she whispered.

I leaned down and kissed her, just as Brody whistled.

“Are you going to stand in the street and make out or come inside for food and game night?” he shouted. “Everyone’s here.”

Briar groaned, and I laughed my ass off all the way into the house.

Everyone called out when we stepped inside. We were close, and we met for dinner and game night often. The guys came to the restaurant every Friday afternoon for lunch. This was my family in every sense of the word. And I liked that she’d fit in with everyone so easily.

I’d ordered everything family-style, and Gracie and Tatum set all the food out on Phoenix’s kitchen island. We all grabbed plates and settled around his kitchen table, with Cannon limping his way over to sit beside me. I made him a plate, and Brody grabbed him a beer.

“So, we arrived here together, I see.” Cannon looked between Briar and me like the dickhead he was before twirling the spaghetti around his fork. “Is this an enemies-to-lovers type of situation?”

“What the fuck did you just say?” Phoenix groaned, and everyone at the table erupted in laughter.

Brody reached for his beer. “He said ‘an enemies-to-lovers situation.’”

“I heard him, douchelicker. I just don’t know what the fuck he’s talking about.” Phoenix exhaled, making no attempt to hide his irritation.