The rest of the guys confirm their orders, and she heads off to the kitchen.
“Okay, are we just not gonna talk about the elephant in the room?” Sin leans forward, folding his arms on the table in front of him.
Darling chokes out a laugh as Mav rolls his eyes.
“What elephant?” I ask stupidly.
“You and Lark,” Sin says, his gaze bouncing between the other two guys. “Willow said she broke up with what’s-his-fuck, so…”
“Oh shit, I was right? Youaregettin’ some? And with Lark?” Darling sits forward, his eyes wide. “Fuck yeah, brother! And to think I was jokin’.”
My head is whipping back and forth. “No guys, stop. I’m not sleeping with Lark.”
“Why the fuck not?” Mav barks out. “You’re fucking in love with her.”
“Exactly!” I throw my hands up in exasperation. These guys don’t know my secret, and I’m certainly not about to spill the beans right here and now. But I know I have to explain myself somehow. “I care about her —” Mav snorts, and I narrow my eyes at him. “Fine, I love her. And because of that, I don’t want to rush things. She was with that guy for years. And only just ended things. What kind of a dick move would it be to rush her into something before she’s ready?”
“Look at you, bein’ all gentlemanly like,” Darling teases, punching my arm. “I’m proud of you, Monty.”
I roll my eyes. “For what? Doing the bare minimum of being a decent human being and respecting a woman?”
“Fair point.” He inclines his head toward me. “Well, we’re all rootin’ for ya. Hopefully, our Lark sees the light and puts you out of your misery soon.”
I’m saved by the arrival of our food, and the conversation drops off as we all devour our meals. We make quick work of it, what with being professional athletes who just worked our asses off in the gym and batting cages. And then, everyone heads their separate ways. But I should have known I wouldn’t get off that easy.
In the parking lot of the stadium, Sin follows me to my truck.
“I’m sorry if I overstepped back there, asking about Lark.”
I give him a small smile. “Nah, it’s fine. Everyone knows how I feel about Lark. Everyone except Lark, it seems.”
His eyes widen. “She doesn’t know?”
“Oh, she does now,” I quickly clarify, then instantly feel mycheeks start to heat up. “We, ahh, we’ve talked about it.”
Sin’s eyebrows raise as a smile breaks free. “Oh really. Talked about it, hmm?”
I unlock my truck and open the door. “Yeah. Talked. Okay, gotta go. Bye.”
Getting in, I close the door and turn on the engine without looking out the window. When I finally do lift my head, thankfully, Sin’s walking away.Phew, dodged that bullet.
Now, to get through tomorrow without Mom embarrassing me.
“Seriously?” I groan as I walk into the living room and see Mom and Lark pouring over an old photo album. “Baby pictures? Mom, come on.” My voice takes on a slight whine, but this is exactly what I was afraid of.
It’s not the fact that Mom and Lark are getting along so well. I expected that, Mom’s awesome and so is Lark. It was a given they’d love each other. But I was really trying to avoid the naked bath time photos a little while longer.
I set down the cups of coffee I just finished making and sit beside Lark, leaning over to see exactly where they’re at in the mortification process.
“Oh great. My shining moment as a sunflower in the grade one class play.”
Lark giggles. “You were an adorable sunflower.”
“Wait until you see his costume forStar Warsday the year he turned eight. He wanted to be a Wookiee! I spent hours gluingfake fur onto a brown sweater.”
I slump back against the couch with another groan. But Lark’s hand lands on my thigh, squeezing it gently, and my gaze darts over to her.
“Well, Chewie was the best character, so I support his decision.”
