Chapter 12
A sharp whistle pierced the air when I stepped outside my apartment on Monday morning. I turned from locking my door to find four grinning knuckleheads waiting in the corridor for me. I’d known these men long enough to know which one had sounded like an air-raid siren while objectifying me.
“Nice, Arch,” I growled.
Ethan grimaced and wiggled a finger in his ear. “Damn. I bet every dog within a ten-mile radius heard that.”
“It’s his new mating call,” Nico teased.
“Ha,” Archer barked. “I sure as hell wouldn’t deploy that here. None of you have ever appreciated me the way I deserve.”
The four of us groaned, and I pushed off down the hallway toward them. “Let’s get this over with,” I said.
Archer batted his eyelashes like a Southern belle. “Whatever do you mean?”
Great. His accent was pure sass on the sliding-twang scale, but I was too amped up to come up with Dolly Parton’s Texan contemporary. I circled my hand in the air to encompass the four of them standing in the hallway. “Whatever this is.”
“We just want to wish you luck,” Vaughn said.
Sighing heavily, I stopped in front of them. “Why today, of all days?”
Ethan waggled his eyebrows. “You know why.” He circled his finger, gesturing for me to turn around. “Let’s do an outfit check.”
I leveled my darkest scowl at him. “I’m wearing the same thing I always wear to a jobsite.” Pants, a black shirt with our logo on it, and boots.
“You’re wearing a nice pair of dark-wash jeans instead of black cargo pants,” Nico pointed out. “They’re looking pretty snug through the thighs. Let’s see how your ass looks.”
“No.” I raised my arm in the air, but the sea of bodies didn’t part. “Come on, guys. I need to go.”
Archer stepped forward instead of backward. “Let’s do a quick breath check.”
I held out my hand and pushed against his chest. “Knock it off. I’m as minty fresh as a Peppermint Patty.”
“Fine,” Arch said as he circled around to my back. “His ass looks amazing in these jeans. I approve.”
I turned to go back to my apartment to change my pants, but Archer stepped into my path.
“I don’t think so, Hawk,” he said. “You’ve come this far. Don’t turn back.” Archer’s green gaze held mine, silently pleading with me to be brave.
They’d known what it had cost me to ask for the shift change during Saturday brunch, just as they’d known why I requested it.
Gossip traveled just as quickly through RAVEN Securities as it did the Silver Maple community, and Bobby was the common denominator for both.
That little shit. I’d expected the guys to tease me and offer some pointers, but they hadn’t mentioned the kiss Bobby had interrupted.
I might’ve convinced myself that my secret was safe, if not for the unusual hum of energy that had pulsed in the room and the Joker grins on their handsome faces.
Hell, I’d barely finished asking for some first shifts, thinking we’d alternate weeks, when Vaughn had smiled and said, “It’s already handled. You’re back at Silver Maple on Monday morning.”
“For good,” Nico had added. “I’m taking over the night shift from now on.”
And that was that. Done and dusted.
But since I’d exchanged phone numbers with Atticus, something friends would do, texting him and inviting him to meet me for lunch on Monday seemed like the logical next step.
Friends eat lunch together. No biggie. Atticus had been quick to accept, and I should’ve left it there.
But nope. No chill. I’d texted Atticus to let him know I was bringing the food.
And he’d replied with a drooling emoji and said he’d treat me to fried chicken on Tuesday.
I’d spent the rest of the weekend replaying Friday’s events and overthinking Saturday’s text exchange while preparing mini quiches, roasted pepper hummus and pita chips, orzo salad, and fruit skewers with a whipped cream dip.
I hadn’t realized the ridiculous scope of my gesture until I had to upgrade from an insulated lunch bag to a small cooler to contain it all.
Archer eyed my lunch vessel with a smirk. “You sure are packing.”
“That’s what he said,” I deadpanned.
That only encouraged Archer’s juvenile behavior. “If not yet, he sure will.”
“Looks like you’ve got enough food for two,” Nico said.
Ethan stepped up beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Feeding people is your love language.”
“Nah, that’s Vaughn.” But I suspected the golden retriever was closer to the mark than I wanted to admit.
Cooking had started out as a random hobby to get out of my head.
I’d tried other things first, but nothing stuck.
Sticking to easy recipes helped me gain confidence, and I challenged myself to go bolder with each new skill I mastered.
I loved testing new recipes and introducing the guys to different cuisines, but cooking for them had taken on a deeper meaning.
The transition hadn’t been sudden, but it was undeniable, though I’d just deflected the suggestion.
“Leave him alone,” Vaughn said. “You’ll make him late.”
“Thanks.”
But then Vaughn slapped my ass and said, “Go get him, Hawk.”
Denial was futile, so I left with a casual wave goodbye.
I had much better luck during my drive to Silver Maple.
Traffic was minimal, every light was green, and Macy was on duty in the guard shack.
She was a no-nonsense person who wouldn’t give me any guff about what happened on Friday night, though I noticed an ornery shimmer in her dark eyes when I stopped at the arm barrier.
Yeah, she knew all about the closet incident. Fucking Bobby.
“Morning, Macy.”
“Morning, boss. Have a great day.”
“You too. Call me if you have any problems.”
Macy responded with a broad smile and a two-finger salute as I drove past. My body hummed with an energy I didn’t want to name when I spotted Atticus’s gold scooter near the entrance.
We’re just friends who lunch. Nothing more.
Huffing a frustrated sigh, I parked the SUV and grabbed my gear from the passenger seat.
Caitlyn’s eyes widened in welcome surprise when I walked into the building. “You’re back.”
Offering a wry grin, I said, “For the foreseeable future, it seems. Hope that’s okay.”
“Of course.” Her eyes glittered with barely repressed curiosity, and I suspected her enthusiasm might have more to do with a front-row seat to my supposed romance with Atticus than seeing me around campus. I knew I was right when she lowered her voice and said, “So, how are things?”
Fucking Bobby.
“Good. And you?”
Caitlyn grinned knowingly. “Things are running smoothly around here for once, and I am eternally grateful for the reprieve.”
“Uh-oh,” I teased.
Her smile turned into a grimace. “Ugh. I probably just jinxed myself.” She checked her watch, then said. “I have a phone conference starting soon, so I’ll let you get on with your day.”
“Thanks. Hope you have a good one.”
“You too,” she called out as she walked away.
I flipped on the light switch and stepped inside RAVEN’s office.
Ethan had taken the time to personalize the space, hanging photos of the five of us on the wall from various places around the world.
We wore field fatigues and sunglasses in many of the images, but not in all of them.
The not-so-fab five also modeled softball uniforms, beachwear, military dress blues, and even tuxes.
There was so much history staring back at me, a reminder that not everyone I dared to love had died.
These guys had seen me through my best and worst of times, just as I had for them, and we’d continue to be there for one another, come hell or high water.
The tight knot under my sternum eased with my next deep breath.
There was nothing to fear. I was just going to have lunch with a new friend.
Atticus was already sitting on the park bench under the oak when I arrived at the pond.
He had his phone out to record the mallard couple’s latest shenanigans.
Marty flapped his wings and splashed the water obnoxiously, while Matilda squawked her displeasure.
The louder she protested, the more he splashed around.
“That’s right, Matilda. Give him hell!” Atticus called out.
“She’s probably pissed because Marty’s been avoiding her,” I suggested.
Atticus snorted, then tapped the screen to stop the recording. He turned his megawatt smile on me. Then his eyes widened when he saw the size of the cooler. “Well, all Marty needs to do is feed her, and she will forgive him.”
I really wanted that to be true. I sat beside Atticus, keeping a few feet of space between us to leave room for the food. “Hope you’re hungry.”
“Always.” Atticus leaned toward me as I unzipped the top of the cooler, and our heads bumped. “Sorry! I’m just a little excited. No one has packed a lunch for me since my days in elementary school. I hope you didn’t go to much trouble.”
“Not at all. It’s just simple food.”
“If you made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I bet it would be the best I’d ever had.”
I desperately wanted to be the best Atticus had ever had, and not just with my culinary skills. Swallowing hard, I forced my mind from the gutter. “The guys were giving me a hard time about the amount of food I made, so maybe I got a little carried away.”
“Does that happen often?” Atticus asked.
“Do I get carried away?”
Hazel-brown eyes shimmered with humor, and that smile of his made my stomach do somersaults. “No. Do the guys tease you all the time?”
“Relentlessly and ruthlessly, but I give as good as I get. Vaughn is the voice of reason and prevents us from taking jokes and pranks too far.”
“Oh, I haven’t met him yet,” Atticus said.
“Vaughn is our handsome, charismatic leader. Archer is the sexy playboy, as you’ve probably guessed after seeing him in action. Ethan is a lovable golden retriever. And Nico is the boyish charmer.”
“And how do you see yourself?” Atticus asked.