“Ow. What?” I ask, jerking my arm out of his grip.
He gives me his typical sibling look, one that’s full of concern and judgment. “What’s the last name of this guy you’re talking to online?”
Oh, hell no. First Luke and now Officer Kelly? I’m done with the interrogation.
“Why? So you can look him up in your database?”
“That’s exactly why.”
There’s one thing I know for sure about my brother. He’s relentless. If I don’t give him a last name, he’ll just keep bugging me for it, or he might even go so far as to hack into my online profile and get it himself. I wouldn’t put that past him. But this is nobody’s business but my own. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. And even though I’ve only chatted with Tyler briefly, and sexually, he seems like a decent guy. I’ve seen some of the profiles on Ignite that scream sociopath, and his isn’t one of them.
I’ve never heard of a murderer who also cares deeply for the environment.
I glance around the patio, looking for inspiration. Nolan squeals when Luke tosses him into the deep end, and it hits me.
“Knight. Tyler Knight. Okay?” I keep my voice steady as he studies me. Ben, and everyone else needs to stay the hell out of this. If he wants to look somebody up in his database, he can look up this guy.
He nods, buying my lie. “All right. Just don’t do anything stupid with this guy, like go home with him or something.”
I tilt my head, motioning toward my very pregnant best friend who is chatting up Reed. “Really? You did not just say that to me.”
He laughs and puts his arm over my shoulder as we walk to the food table. “Just be careful, okay? I won’t be there to size up this guy, so I’m relying on Reed and Luke to do it for me.”
I pull away from him, looking from the pool back to Ben. “What? Luke isn’t going to be there. He never goes to the summer bonfires.”
Never. I couldn’t pay him to go to one last year.
“He’ll be at this one.”
My anxiety level spikes in my blood. Not that I wouldn’t mind making Luke jealous at this thing, but knowing him, he would probably just ruin my chances of getting laid.
Payback for the wedding.
Turning around, I glare down at Luke as he comes up from out of the water, running his hands through his hair and then over his face. My eyes narrow in on his chest, my favorite body part of his, and the T he got tattooed last summer after we’d only been together for a month. He’d played it off at the time, pointing to all the other tattoos that covered his body, and telling me that he was the king of rash decisions—getting my initial wasn’t really a big deal. But it had to be. I’d never get someone’s initial tattooed on me unless I knew, without a doubt, that they were my forever.
I remember being completely transfixed by it, running my fingers over the outline while listening to his seemingly practiced explanation. And when he tried to lessen the magnitude of the gesture, I swore I saw something in his eyes. A hidden declaration, concealed by fear or uncertainty.
You can be permanent too, if you want to be.
Jesus. How fucking stupid was I back then? I should’ve taken his words to heart instead of interpreting them in a way he obviously didn’t mean. Like that tattoo, I was just another rash decision. Not a big deal. Something he could easily black out if he wanted to.
I lift my eyes and see his trained on mine, which I’m not at all prepared for. Luke doesn’t just look at you. He gets inside your head and roots himself there, overtaking every thought and making everything around you that isn’t him seem insignificant. Those crazy eyes of his are enthralling. Amber, like the color of a sunrise. I’ve never seen anything like it. Men shouldn’t have such beautiful eyes. They shouldn’t have beautiful anything. But Luke…
“Hey, loser.” Reed’s voice snaps me back into reality and tears my gaze from the guy I shouldn’t have been staring at in the first place. But he was staring at me too. Wasn’t he? I glance once more at the pool but Luke’s back is to me as he plays with Nolan. “I’m gonna head out.”
I turn my attention back to Reed. “What? No, you’re not. Mia hasn’t even opened her gifts yet.”
“And?” he asks, pulling out his phone and messing with it. “Your mom thinks I’m some chick, apparently. I’d rather get the hell out of here before she has me on dish duty.”
I step into him, and jab my finger against his chest. “You’re not going anywhere. Not until Mia opens her gifts.” I turn my head, seeing Mia and Ben talking with a few of my cousins. Reed tries to move past me but I slam my hand against his chest and halt him mid-step.
“Hey, Mia! Let’s open your gifts now and then we’ll play some games.”
She acknowledges me with a smile and hands her plate off to Ben before beginning to walk over.
Reed drops his head so that his face is in my hair. “I’m not playing any fucking baby games,” he firmly whispers.
I glare up at him. “You’re playing all of them. Or did you forget two weeks ago when I pretended to be your wife to get that chick away from you at McGill’s?” The memory returns to him and he drops his head in defeat, uttering a muffled curse.
Reed is notorious for picking up girls at bars around Ruxton. He never seems to have any difficulty either. But two weeks ago, he met a major clinger at McGill’s who started talking about how she believed in love at first sight. Or more specifically, love at first sight with Reed. He’d texted me to bail him out when she wouldn’t pick up on the uninterested vibe he was throwing her way. So I’d swooped in, begging him to not give up on our marriage, and put on a good show for everyone watching.
He didn’t get laid that night, but he also didn’t wind up with a Grade A-stalker.
I tap him on his shoulder and he lifts his head. “Yeah, you owe me. I’m still disinfecting my mouth out from that kiss.”
“You liked it,” he states, the smile he reserves only for women, returning. I’m sure that works on the general population of Alabama, but it’ll never work on me. Reed is permanently in the friend zone, where he belongs. I adore him, but strictly in the “I have no desire to see you naked” sort of way.
I push him toward the house. “You wish. Go grab me a notepad from inside.”
He walks away laughing as Mia joins my side. “Ready?” she asks, her smile contorting as she holds on to her belly. I tense, looking over at Ben and then back at her. She shakes her head and blows out a breath forcefully. “Indigestion. I’ve been getting it a lot lately.”
I relax my shoulders, grabbing her hand and walking to the gift table. “Please wait until after the shower to have the baby. My mom will lose her shit if you don’t get to eat the cake she slaved over all morning.”
She sits in the lawn chair I’ve decorated with streamers and balloons, her maternity dress stretching across her belly. “Oh, I’m definitely eating that cake, even if I have to take it with me to the hospital.”
I grab the gift that was delivered a few days ago. “Do you want to open your aunt’s gift first?”
She takes the gift from me, and places it in her lap, sighing. “I really wish she could’ve been here for this. I love that all your family is here, but… I don’t know. It would just be nice if she was here too.” Her eyes lose focus as she clutches the gift.