She laughed and put her hand on his arm. Heat flooded through him and he shifted his jacket, just in case. “You’re not a douchebag. Gavin just got two beers from the bartender, so let’s go sit down.”
“You sure you should drink a beer after eating bad seafood?” Lydia asked, throwing a chip at him from one of the baskets of nachos on the table.
He caught it and popped it in his mouth, shrugging. It was going to take a while to live this one down, and rightly so. But all that mattered was that Wren was laughing again. The women who considered him a part of their extended family had obviously welcomed her back into the fold.
Fitting all of them around the table was tight, so Wren was pressed against his side. He could rest his arm across the back of her chair, but he resisted. He’d already made an ass of himself tonight. The next move was hers.
His phone buzzed and he pushed his chair back enough so he could fish it out of his pocket. It was a text from Lydia, and he looked at her questioningly.
She rolled her eyes and then looked down at her lap. A few seconds later his phone vibrated in his hand.
Did you follow us because you were afraid we were being mean to her?
And then the second text.
You suck at being discreet.
After making sure his phone angle would keep anybody—especially Wren—from seeing the screen, he responded.
She’s the only single one, so I was afraid you’d try to find her a man. And I just needed to see her.
We wouldn’t do that to you.
I know. I’m an idiot.
At least you’re self-aware.
He snorted and shoved the phone back into his pocket to signal he was done with the conversation.
“Everything okay?” Wren asked as he scooted forward again.
“Yeah. It was nothing.”
The dance music changed to a slower song, and Cait hauled Gavin to his feet. “You’re going to dance with me.”
“I love when she’s bossy,” he said, doing what he was told, and they all laughed.
Grant wanted to dance with Wren. He sucked at dancing, but he’d get to hold her for three minutes, give or take. But he’d already decided the ball was in her court, and he didn’t want to push any more.
“Go dance with Wren,” Ashley told him. Apparently she’d decided to run onto the court and hit the ball herself.
“That’s up to Wren.”
“You came all the way here,” Wren said. “I guess I should at least dance with you.”
She nudged him so he stood up and then gave her his hand. He’d intended just to help her up, but she didn’t let go. Hand in hand, they walked to the small dance floor and then her arms were around his neck and his hands were on her waist. He didn’t pull her any closer, but it was enough.
“So what were you and Lydia texting about?” she asked as they swayed to the music.
“I would be the world’s worst secret agent, wouldn’t I?”
“The absolute worst.”
“She asked if I followed you guys here because I was afraid they’d be mean to you.”
She laughed. “Since we’re all adults, it makes more sense that anybody who didn’t want to be around me simply wouldn’t have come.”
“And for the record, I didn’t follow you here. Gavin pulled up the location of Cait’s phone with his and it showed us you were here.”
