Talk about an ego boost,she murmured to her goat. The goat was entirely nonchalant, feeling the bears around them were only giving Briana her proper due.
Apparently Laurie had seen the little exchange between her and his cousin, though, because he pulled her into a corner, away from the closing rush, and crushed her into a hug, face buried in her hair before he mumbled, "I don't deserve you."
Briana laughed and curled her arms around him in return. "Probably not, but you've got me anyway. I just don't like them being sarcastic at you."
"I know, but I've got a long way to go to prove to them they don't have to be. And honestly…" He sighed into her hair. "They'll probably always be snide. I spent a long time coasting and family doesn't forget."
Briana smiled toothily up at him. "Just remind them goats can eat anything, including their favorite."
Laurie squinted. "Their favorite what?"
"I don't think it needs a qualifier," Briana said with a sniff. "If it's their favorite, I can eat it."
Her mate laughed. "And you would, too, wouldn't you?"
She smiled again, even more toothily. "All I'm saying is I wouldn't risk it, if I were them."
He looked down at her with a combination of laughter and awe in his eyes. "It helps, you know? It helps that you're my mate. None of them think you would have any time for me if I couldn't get my act together."
Briana made a face. "They're not wrong."
Laurie grimaced cheerfully. "I know. But it still helps. I think Lu—Liamis actually terrified of you."
"As he should be. No, actually, Liam's fine. Lu? Is that what his name used to be?"
"No, he's William Lucas and he always went by Luke to avoid anybody calling him Bill, because we already had a Bill. But he's been using Liam at the Faire since he was fifteen and it finally occurred to him he could just use it in real life, too."
"Oh. I didn't even know his name had ever been anything except Liam until you mentioned it. Anyway, Ashley and I have come to an understanding."
"Dare I ask?"
"Probably not." Briana laughed as alarm crossed Laurie's face. "No, it's fine. She gets that she'd defend Penny against doubters, too, so it's all good. C'mon, I'm stealing you for a minute." She glanced toward the rest of the pub, watchingeverybody scurrying around closing down, and took Laurie's hand to lead him out to the beer gardens.
It was busy out there, too, honestly: vendors were finishing packing things away for the night, hugging each other, speaking with relief about how well the day had gone and how grateful they were that the Thunder Bear Brewpub had been able to step up and support the Faire this way. Briana smiled at that, but pulled Laurie farther away from the closing crowd so they could have a few minutes to themselves. They found a tree to half-hide beneath, and sat, entangling arms and legs before Briana murmured, "So, hi."
"Hi." Laurie tucked her against his broad chest and sighed, content to be quiet for a little while, though he eventually said, "I think it went well."
"It went very well," Briana said, amused. "You're the hero of the hour. And did I see you dragging Miguel into the Faire council?"
"I'm trying, anyway. You know him?"
"Damien sources the leather for our sword hilts from him, yeah. I don't know him well, but he's a great craftsman."
"I made my baldric at one of his workshops a couple years ago." Laurie gestured like he was wearing the sword belt, though he wasn't. "What a weird little town this is, with blacksmiths and leather-workers."
"It's literally part of its charm. Speaking of weird, I saw Jon and Alis talking to the Red King earlier. Did they figure it all out?"
"Oh! Yeah, he's going to officiate their wedding on the last weekend of Faire, here at the Thunder Bear. It'll actually be really nice, I think. More accessible than the fairgrounds. That's something we're working on for the rebuild." Laurie bent his head over Briana's. "Accessibility was kind of ad-hoc the way it was, because it was all an afterthought or added for compliance.But I'm actually reaching out to architectural firms to get a real plan in place for the rebuild."
Briana sat up to blink at him. "Really? I don't mean to be rude, but how is the Faire going to afford that?"
"You know Penny, right? Ashley's mate?"
"I knowofher, anyway. I've seen the Sixty Pix live a bunch of times."
"Right, well, she's good friends with Maggie Ross?—"
Briana wished she hadn't sat up already, because now she wanted to again. Instead she had to actually move back, far enough away from Laurie to really be able to see him properly. "She's…what? How? Maggie Ross the professional wrestler? Mad Maggie Magdalene, that Maggie Ross?"
