“Good call on his part.”
“You know you’re an idiot, right?”
“How about you quit his class, and I’ll kickbox with you?”
“At six am? No thank you!” I shudder at the thought of working out that early.
“Hmm, I’ll have to work on that answer when I get home.”
“Love you! See you later!” I disconnect to avoid the conversation.
I go through the emails and start to print off the listings I like when the phone rings again. The number for Clyde’s Formalwear pops up, and I answer with a chirp. “Hey, little mama!”
“Presley, I need you.” Ember’s hushed voice sets my nerves on edge.
“What’s wrong?”
“Can you come get me? Actually, maybe send Reese. I’ll sneak out the back door.”
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing’s wrong with me or the baby, but I’ll explain soon.”
“Hold on. Let me message Reese.” I switch to text and send her a quick message. She responds immediately, saying she’s on her way.
“Ember, she’ll be there in ten minutes. You want to come here?”
“God, yes… see you soon.”
For the next thirty minutes, I can’t concentrate, wondering what could be wrong. Scenarios fly through my mind, and by the time Reese opens the door, I’m almost frantic.
Ember walks in with a small bag, while Reese carries a much larger and seemingly heavier grocery sack.
“What the hell? You okay?”
“Yes, but I’m going insane. I had to get away from every male in my life, and you two are my only hope.”
“What?” I ask confused.
She gives Reese a knowing look, and Reese disappears into the kitchen. A few minutes later, she returns with a loaded down tray. There’s an open bottle of wine and two glasses, a few bottles of water, along with a gallon of ice cream, and a pile of nachos.
Ember sighs in ecstasy and sits on the end of my couch, grabbing the nachos first.
“Okay, before you completely freak out, I need this. My husband has gone insane. Certifiably insane. He monitors my food, my sleep, and even our sex! Since he can’t be with me all the time, he’s recruited Cruz, Alex, Chloe, and my dad. I am constantly under watch. At first, it was sweet, but now, I’m not sure I can live with him like this.” She stuffs a load of nachos in her mouth and gives a muffled groan.
Reese hands me a glass of wine and gives me the side-eye.
“And before you argue about drinking at four-thirty before kickboxing, do it.” Ember covers her full mouth. “I’m not allowed to kickbox anymore. Too dangerous.” She air-quotes.
I stifle a laugh and hide my face when she gives me an evil glare.
“Oh, you think this is funny? Get used to it. This is your world. Finn is cut from the same cloth. No doubt in my mind, we’ll have to come up with a way to sneak you out of your protective bubble when the time comes.”
I go to sit by her, enjoying the glass of wine and the entertainment. Reese settles next to me, stretching her legs out and boxing me in.
“Tell us exactly why you had to be covert today. Why not walk out, get in your car, and peel out?”
Ember’s eyes get wide as saucers, and she swallows hard, starting to choke. We hand her a bottle of water, and she gulps it, shaking her head. “You have no idea. Robbie isn’t only protective, he’s uber-protective. There’s a gadget on my car, and my phone is traced. He can find me. Y’all were my only hope at normalcy. That’s why I called Presley from the shop phone. I left my phone there, taking no chances, but I did leave a note I was going out for a bit before I snuck out. It will take a while to find me. I figure Finn has the same tracking in Presley’s phone, so having her come get me would be ridiculous. Finn would know her every mile. He’s the expert.”
“What?” I screech.
“You didn’t know?” she asks, again stuffing her face.
“No way. Finn would tell me if he put a tracker-thing on my car. As for my phone, he may have traced me once, but that’s it. He does have a GPS on Winnie in case of emergency, but Dad agreed to that.”
Both girls give me a look that verifies how stupid I sound.
“No…” I whisper. “You think?”
“These guys don’t play around, and he loves you, so yes, I think he can find you.” Ember pushes the half-eaten plate of nachos toward us and leans back, patting her stomach. “But regardless, those were sooo good.”
I snag a chip before Reese takes over, and nibble, thinking about Finn and his monitoring me.
“Finn wants to buy a house,” I blurt out.
“We know,” they say in unison, not shocked at all.
“I’m scared,” I admit.
“We know,” they repeat.
“How do you know? I just got scared two hours ago. It’s a big step.”
“Ember knows because Robbie told her. I know because I know you,” Reese explains, refilling our glasses.
“Hand me the ice cream. I think we have at least thirty minutes before I’m busted.” Ember reaches for the carton. “You must keep this here for me. It’s coffee flavored, which is gross, but I’m not allowed to have coffee anymore.”
I wince in sympathy and picture her life changing dramatically. But I watch her rubbing her small baby bump with a dreamy grin.
“You excited?”
“More than you know. I am petrified of being a mom, because I never really had one, but Jenna and Chloe are amazing.”
“You’ll do great. Robbie will be with you every step of the way.”
“He will. Even if I’m being a pisser right now, he’s going to be an amazing dad,” she gushes.
“Ugh! Stop it.” Reese chugs her wine and pours more. “Not all of us have perfect guys. I’ve hit a dry spell… can we talk about something fun?”
“How about you and Tripp?” I duck into Ember, waiting for Reese to slap me. Instead, she knocks me with a pillow.
“Nothing. He’s not interested. Two dates, a few kisses, nothing else.”
Ember and I moan at the same time then burst into giggles. “Is he a good kisser? I bet he is. Those full lips scream ‘world-class kisser’,” I say and watch my best friend turn an unusual shade of red.
She chews on her bottom lip and finally nods rapidly. “He’s definitely the best kisser I’ve ever come across. That’s why I’m so disappointed. What’s wrong with me?”
“Nothing’s wrong with you. Maybe he’s taking things slow.”
“I have to agree with Presley that there’s nothing wrong with you, but it is highly unusual for this crew of guys to go slow. Look at Finn. He’s about to buy a house for Presley,” Ember adds.
“He may be buying a house,” I correct her, “but it’s not for me, it’s for him.”
“Ummhmm, you keep telling yourself that. But for now, we need to focus on Reese and strategize how to get Tripp’s head out of his ass.”
We chat for a few minutes, Reese and I going through one bottle of wine and opening another as Ember happily eats her ice cream. Finally, we have the perfect plan in place when my phone rings with Finn’s tone.
“Hey,” I accidentally slur a bit.
“Babe, please tell me Ember’s with you.”
I glance at Ember, who rolls her eyes and huffs. Reese starts giggling so hard she snorts loudly.
“Umm, maybe?”
“Thank Christ. Robbie’s about to blow a gasket.”
“We’re having a girls’ afternoon.”
“She didn’t think to let her maniacal husband know? And what the hell happened to kickboxing? You sound drunk.”
“I may be a bit tipsy. We couldn’t do kickboxing. Ember’s banned because it’s too dangerous, which is ridiculous!”
“Hell no, it’s not. I’m surprised it’s lasted this long. I’ll do the same thing when you’re pregnant. But that’s their business. We’re on our way. Her whole crew
is losing their mind.”
“Wait! We’re fine. Honestly, she needed some girl time. I swear, we’re taking care of her.” I shove his comment about me being pregnant in the back of my mind for another conversation.
“Who’s we?”
“Reese and me.”
“That explains it. Reese was her getaway driver. We should have guessed.”
“Oops.” I gave away her secret.
“I’ll try to keep Robbie here for another half hour, but no promises.”
“That won’t be enough time to plan Reese’s date!” I protest and immediately realize my mistake.
“Come again?” Finn rumbles.
“Nothing, forget I said anything.”
“Reese has a date?”
“Well, I mean, umm, she, umm…”
“Presley, spit it out. Either she does or she doesn’t.”
“Well, this is actually girl talk, and it’s against the code to tell you the details.”
“Shut your loose lips!” Reese hisses, banging me with a throw pillow.
“Presley, answer me.”
“Fine! A guy asked her out, and she said no because she’s interested in Tripp. But he doesn’t seem to return the feelings, so she’s cutting her losses.”
There, I said it! Ha! Ember starts to wriggle with laughter as Reese continues to assault me with the pillow.
“Love you, babe.” Finn hangs up, and I try to burrow into the couch under Ember to get away from my attacker.
“You bitch! Why the hell did you say all that?”
“Because I’m buzzed and it spilled out!”
“Spilled, my ass! You had diarrhea of the mouth. What the fuck happened to loyalty and sisterhood? You’re being replaced. Ember is taking the number one spot in my life!”
“Ouch!” I hold my hand over my heart, wounded.
“I’ve never been a best friend! This is great.” Ember claps enthusiastically.
“Fine, I’ll be dejected. Finn can be my new best friend. At least he gives me orgasms.” I gulp the rest of my wine and sigh dreamily.
“Oh, orgasms are very important. Even with Robbie smothering me, I still get orgasms… lots and lots of orgasms.”
“Hello! Bitches, we just discussed this… dry spell over here. Nothing more than tongue action in a month. I don’t want to hear about your fucking orgasms.” Reese gives us both the evil eye.
Ember and I exchange a look and proceed to talk about sex—raunchy, sweaty, dirty sex. When we start in on blow-jobs, Reese is so frustrated, she starts drinking out of the wine bottle, hoarding it from me.
I open my mouth to tease her some more when the door swings open, and Tripp storms in with his focus on Reese. Finn and Robbie follow, their eyes doing a sweep of the room and landing on Ember and me.
“You’re going out with that guy?” Tripp looks like he’s ready to blow up.
Reese shrugs nonchalantly, swigging out of the bottle again in a truly defiant manner.
“Answer me.”
“What if I am? Would you care?”
I cringe when his jaw starts to tick and the vein in his forehead pops. Ember scuttles closer to me and whispers, “You’re about to see exactly what I mean about these men. They don’t play around.”
Tripp gives Finn and Robbie a look, and they both move to Ember and me. Finn gently shifts Reese to the side and lifts me. Once I’m off Ember, Robbie does the same, and they carry us to the kitchen.
Finn places me gently on the counter while Robbie sits with Ember in his lap.
“Should I be worried?” I semi-whisper.
Finn doesn’t get a chance to answer when Robbie speaks up. “Ember’s the one who should be worried. I’m thinking about putting a monitor on her after today.”
“Robbie! I’m pregnant, not dying. I needed space, and you are suffocating me!”
The air in the room goes still. I watch in fascination as his face crumbles, and he pulls her closer, nuzzling into her neck. “I’m sorry, but I worry so much. Everything I do is to protect you.”
She looks at him with tears in her eyes. Then she sucks in a deep breath. “I like girls’ day. I want more of them, and I won’t apologize for sneaking off.”
“You can have them anytime you want, but never leave again without telling me.”
Finn moves in, positioning himself between my legs and caging me in with his arms. “And you should have called me. Robbie may be a protective ass, but he’s got good reason.”
“Hey, buddy.” I shove a finger in his chest. “Don’t get bossy on me. I was innocent in all this. I even told them about the awesome orgasms!” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I slap my hands to my face.
“Jesus Christ. I don’t need to hear this,” Robbie utters as Ember starts giggling.
Finn grips my wrist, pulling them gently from my face. “Awesome orgasms, huh? Is this drunk talk?”
I don’t meet his eyes, but nod and bury my head in his chest.
“This is fucking ridiculous,” Robbie gruffs again.
“What’s the deal with Tripp?” Ember tries to change the subject.
“He’s a fool. He got a taste of his own medicine, and I bet, right about now, Reese is seeing just how interested he is.”
“Are they going to do it on my couch?” I squeal.
Finn cringes. “Better not. I lay on that couch.”
I meet his eyes and start to blush, knowing what we’ve done on it.
“Do you think we can order pizza? I’m hungry.” Ember speaks up, and I snicker in Finn’s shirt.
“Anything you want, but we need to order a—“
“Robbie! I want a pizza! No restrictions!”
“I’d listen to her,” Reese says from the doorway.
I lift my head to see her smiling, Tripp wrapped around her waist, leaning down with his head on her shoulder. He gives me a wink, and I wink back.
“I’ll agree to pizza if I never have to hear the words ‘awesome orgasms’ from Presley ever again.” Robbie shutters dramatically.
“I make no promises!” I scream before Finn covers my mouth with his, silencing me.
“I fucking love you, Presley.” He runs his lips against mine. “Your crazy ass is mine, forever.”
Chapter 26
Finn
“See you tonight?” I ask Robbie, getting into my truck.
“Yeah,” he confirms. “Good luck this afternoon.”
“The hard part is over. We found a house and the offer was accepted. Now, I need to worry about actually getting her ass moved in when the time comes.”
His lips twitch as he fights a grin. He’s aware of Presley’s aversion to buying a house and my constant pressure to have an open mind. Finally, she picked a few to look at. The fourth one was ‘the one’. I think we both knew it the minute we walked in, but I hid my feelings until I could get a read on her.
The flow of the rooms, the natural light from the back wall of windows, the molding, wainscoting, and wide-planked wooden floors, all of it was beautiful. But when Presley walked into the master bedroom and turned to me, her expression gave her away. She felt the same. I immediately saw ‘us’ in the house.
“Text me when Max gets to your place. We’ll come on over.”
He tips his chin, and I back out. The phone rings, and I smile when Presley’s goofy grin pops on the screen. She hates the picture and tries to erase it every day, but I replace it each time she deletes it.
“Hey, babe.”
“Finn! You are not going to believe what’s happened!”
“What?” I play along, even though I’m pretty sure I know what she’s referring to.
“Your mom came into the K9 offices. She had a meeting with the director about fundraising. They did a tour, and I was with a new dog. She stopped the tour and made a point to hug me and tell the director I was the reason she was so passionate about the program.”
“That’s great.”
“Finn! Do you know what this means? Evelyn is a career fundraiser. She’s amazing! She can bring a lot of attention to K9!”
“She’s my mom. I know how passionate she is. Wait until Jenna gets involved.”
“This is exactly the kind of attention we need. Can you imagine how this will affect and support the program? I’m on cloud nine.”
“It’s a good organization.”
“It is.” I make a mental note to take my mom to lunch next week to thank her for making Presley so happy.
“We’re going to be short on time, so I’m going to pick up some lunch on my way to get you. Text me what you want.”
“I could meet you instead of having you drive all the way here to pick me up.”
“We’re going together. Text me your lunch order.”
“You’re lucky I love you so much, and I’m riding on cloud nine about your mom. Otherwise, I’d definitely give you a hard time about being bossy.”
“Give me a hard time tonight. For now, just accept it.” I press end, picturing her huff in irritation.
The text comes through as I drive up to the deli I knew she’d pick. Since the first time I brought her lunch, she chooses this place every time we’re in the area. I know her order by heart, but I check the phone to confirm she hasn’t decided on something different.
Presley: Chix Salad. No tomatoes. Come please.
What the fuck? Come? She wants to come? This is too good to pass up.
I press redial, and she answers immediately.
“You trying to tell me something? Should I push back the appointment an hour?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You want sex, babe, I’m game.”
“Again, what are you talking about?”
“Read your text.”
She squeals, “Coke! I want a coke! Damn autocorrect!”
I laugh so loud the cashier jumps. “Knew what you meant, but a man can dream.”
“Jesus, I’m so lucky that went to you.”
“Gotta go, but remember, if you’re feeling needy, I’ll take care of it.”
“Bye, you sex fiend!”
I order our lunch and eat my sandwich on the drive to the K9 offices. She must be watching for me out the window, because she rushes out, waving to someone behind her. I give her a quick kiss before she dives into the bag and starts eating like a starved animal.
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