“We can call her on the way.” He grabs my purse from the counter and points to my flip-flops that are by the door in the mudroom.
With a laugh, I follow him, only stopping to slide my feet into my flip-flops before following him out to the garage and to his truck.
“Good thing we have three bays, huh?” He smiles as he passes my car. He insisted that I park there. He cleaned out the space a couple of weeks ago, moving the lawnmower, and I don’t know what else to a small shed he bought for that purpose out back.
I just smile at him and wait for him to open my door, knowing that he’ll complain if I don’t. Once the door is shut, I pull out my phone to call Palmer. I talk to her all the way to my apartment. She’s thrilled that I’m moving in with Deacon, just like I knew that she would be.
“We’re here,” I tell her. “I’ll see you tonight at seven. Do you need us to pick you up?”
“Nah, I’m all set. I have a shoot on Sunday, so I won’t be drinking. Nothing like being hungover when you’re shooting a third birthday party full of screaming kids.”
“Yikes. Okay, well, I love you. I’ll see you later.”
“Tell my brother he makes me proud,” she teases.
“Will do.” I end the call and slide my phone into my purse. “Palmer is meeting us there, and she told me to tell you that you make her proud.”
“She’s going to remind us that she got us together until we’re old and gray, isn’t she?”
“Yes. Yes, she is.”
“You really moving in with this guy?” Sterling points to where Deacon is sitting next to me.
“It’s too late to back out now. We spent the day packing up the majority of my clothes and toiletries and moving them into his place.”
“I admit, I didn’t think I would see the day,” Brooks confesses.
“You and me both. This one,” Orrin points to Deacon, “worked so much I thought he was going to die a lonely old man.”
“I was just waiting for the right one to come along.”
“Ugh,” Declan groans. “Now you’ve got him waxing all kinds of poetic shit. Ramsey, you broke him. You broke Deacon.” The table erupts in laughter, including Deacon. His arm is slung over the back of my chair, and I can feel him shaking.
“Oh, there’s Jade. Let’s go say hi.” Palmer stands and motions for me to follow after her.
“You want anything?” I ask Deacon.
“Nah, I’m good.”
“You sure?”
“You already gave me what I wanted today.” His eyes are soft, but my cousins can’t see that. I know he’s referring to me moving in with him, but to those not looking at him, the statement can sound suggestive.
“My ears.” Archer places his hands over his ears, and again the table laughs at my man’s expense.
“Oh, I gave him that too,” I tell my cousins. “But what my boyfriend was referring to was me agreeing to move in with him.”
“Isn’t Palmer waiting on you?” Rushton asks.
“Fine, I can take the hint. Can I get any of you anything while I’m at the bar?” I offer.
“No. It’s your night off. If they need something, they can get it themselves,” Deacon speaks up.
“What he said.” Orrin points at me. “Go, we’re good here.”
I make a production of standing and bending over to kiss Deacon. My cousins grumble and groan about the kiss. When I pull back, we’re both smiling. “I’ll be back,” I say softly, just for him.
When I reach the bar where Palmer is sitting, she waves her hand in front of her face. “Okay, so I know he’s my brother, but damn, girl, way to put it on him.” She chuckles.
“That was hot,” Jade agrees.
“They were giving us a hard time, so I thought I would give them something to talk about.” I shrug.
“Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?” Palmer asks.
“I’m still me. I just fell in love with an incredible man.”
“Where do I get me one of those?” Jade asks.
“Right?” Palmer agrees.
“Ladies, I have a table full of single cousins for you to choose from. They’re all great guys who welcomed me as if I were their sister. You’d be lucky to have any of them.”
“They’re all single?” Jade asks, glancing over her shoulder at the table.
“Yep.”
“Which one are you looking at?” Palmer turns to look at our table.
“All of them.” Jade grins.
“What about you?” I bump my shoulder into Palmer’s. “Which one are you looking at?”
“All of them,” she parrots Jade’s earlier reply.
“Your sister’s missing out. I called her to try and get her to come out tonight, but she already had a date.”
Palmer sighs. “She’s on this dating app and they’re all losers.”
“I need three drafts,” Hannah, one of the servers, calls out from her spot next to me. “This is for your table,” she tells me. “How do you handle being related to all of that hotness?”