She’d met his best friend. He was a big man with a grim handsomeness about him.
“Then I would get to see you because I spend a lot of time at Trio,” she admitted. “Even when I’m not working.”
“I would enjoy that.” Van continued mixing drinks as he talked. “I think we’ll fit in better in town than we do here. If we can find jobs, there are a couple of cabins to rent in the valley we might be able to afford. It would be good to put down roots. I spent the entirety of my childhood on the road.”
She knew his parents had been somewhat bohemian. “On the road?”
“Yeah. I grew up in an RV,” he explained. “My mom and dad decided they didn’t like the idea of being part of the rat race, so we pretty much drove from place to place and stayed as long as my dad’s attention could be held. He would find some seasonal work for a while and we would have a couple of months in one place, but then the festival season would start up and he would decide we should all make crafts to sell. I saw a lot of the country. I met a lot of interesting people, but I’m like my older brother. I need some permanency in my life.”
“I can understand that. I had a rough childhood when it came to financial stability, but I had friends to rely on.” She glanced over to where River and Jax were dancing to a slow ballad. River grinned up at her husband, and there was such joy on her friend’s face that it filled Lucy’s heart. “Friends are important. Sometimes they’re more important than family.”
She loved her siblings, but she wasn’t close to them anymore. Her brothers were living their lives, and her younger sisters had each other. River and Ty and Sawyer had been her lifelines.
And now they were all back in Bliss where they belonged, and their little family could get a wee bit bigger with the additions of Michael and Jax. Someday Sawyer would find a blow-up doll he truly loved and they would all be complete.
“Don’t I know it,” Van replied. “My blood family scattered to the four winds, but Hale is still here with me.”
She had to ask the question. “So…are you thinking about it?”
She had to wonder if they were curious about the lifestyle here in Bliss.
Van’s lips curled up, and he didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “Hell, yeah, we’re thinking about it. If you hadn’t gone and gotten a couple of boyfriends, you would have known exactly how hard I’ve been thinking about it.”
She had to chuckle. “Well, I will be on the lookout for the right woman. I’m feeling like matchmaking.”
Van’s hands came up. “Nope. We can totally do that ourselves. Thanks.”
She kind of liked the look of fear in his eyes, and she immediately started making a list in her head. She knew some fun ladies.
“Hey, what the hell, Sonya?” A feminine shout could be heard over the dance music.
She turned and sighed because the Fosters were sitting at a table in the back, champagne and wine bottles all around them. She’d been surprised they had come to the party. Well, three of them were. Sonya, Kendall, and Chet had taken the table and ordered bottle service. There was a cheese plate that hadn’t been touched in the middle of the table, and they’d spent most of the night staring down at their phones.
“Damn, that is going to stain, but at least you can try.” Van opened a bottle of club soda and offered it to her with one of the clean towels. “Tell her to dab not scrub.”
Kendall Foster was standing up, pointing to the large stain on her gray and black jumpsuit. It fit her slim form to perfection and was likely from some celebrity designer.
Lucy grabbed the club soda and towel and started to make her way over. Sonya was setting her now half-filled glass of Pinot Noir on the tablecloth, that had also taken some damage.
The laundry team would love that.
“Could you watch what you’re doing?” Kendall asked. “Do you know how much this cost?”
Sonya had already grabbed a napkin off the table and approached her sister. “I’m sorry. It slipped out of my hand. And of course I know. Who do you think pays your credit card bills?”
Kendall set her own glass down. “Don’t make it sound like you pay for me. You just do the paperwork.”
“Because you’re too irresponsible to do it,” Sonya shot back.
“I brought some club soda.” Lucy didn’t want to get in the middle of this, but she also didn’t want the sisters to start a fight. At least Chet seemed deeply uninterested in anything except his phone screen.
Hailey, one of the servers working the rotating hors d’oeuvres, strode up. “Don’t use club soda. We need hydrogen peroxide and dishwashing soap for that material. We’ve got both down in the laundry.”