I flash him a cringey smile. Have I seen the video of an Irwin’s employee making kissy faces at a backpack with the captionGet a man who looks at you the way we look at the new Vireo?“A few times.”
“I hope every business up and down Maple Street creates their own video in homage to Reed staring at Rose like a lost puppy.” Nathan’s got stars in his eyes, imagining a meme war taking over Sunshine.
Actually, his other family members do, too. Only Luke holds onto a veneer of skepticism as the rest fall into assorted dreamy expressions. Lucy coos about how cute our video is, and even Russ declares it adorable.
Meanwhile, Reed’s quickly approaching gargoyle mode, freezing up beside me. I drop a hand to his knee the way he did mine. It’s supposed to be comforting and soothing—a reminderthat I’m here for him. Unfortunately, it quickly turns into something I’m doing forme.
Touching his thigh was definitely a mistake. His firm muscles bunch beneath my palm before relaxing again. Heat radiates through his jeans like he’s got molten lava under there. My fingers go rogue and flex, giving him an experimental squeeze. This is quite possibly the nicest thigh in the history of thighs. Maybe I should check to see if his other thigh is of the same high quality. It probably is. But I need to find out for certain.
Or…considering the seven pairs of eyes trained on us, I should probably not give both of Reed’s thighs the squeeze-test.
“If it turns into a town-wide trend, we’ll add one of our own.” I pause, remembering how long it took to get two minutes of useable video out of him the other day. “If my video partner is willing.”
Reed shifts, moving his shoulder away from me. I guess he’s not interested in more video shoots. I lift my hand, ready to lock it away forever in groper’s jail, when his arm comes down again around the back of my chair. His thumb grazes my upper arm in a soft, barely-there caress my whole body zones in on.
“I’m willing,” rumbles out of his chest like a purr.
On my other side, Jovie giggles over the last of her gnocchi. “Uncle Reed’s got a crush.”
We’re rocking the fake relationship bit so hard, nobody suspects it’s not real.
Not even my foolish heart.
21
reed
Rose’s handon my leg broke my brain in the best way. Now, watching her play Speed with Jovie is putting it back together again piece by piece. They’re sitting across from each other on the living room floor, filling the room with snapping sounds as they lay down cards in quick succession. They laugh louder the faster they go, Jovie giggling so hard, we might be perilously close to pee-her-pants territory.
Luke stands near me, his eye on the game, too. He doesn’t assault me with meaningful stares or goofy, happy noises like other members of our family, bless him. He and Graham are fine. The rest could stand to take it down a notch. Even Dad gave me a cheeky look when we were clearing the table.
Rose never needed to worry about whether my family would like her. They’re head over heels for her already. They’d swap me out for her in a heartbeat.
“Do you go on dates with Uncle Reed?” Jovie asks, slapping down a card.
“Sometimes.” Rose is just as fast. I can’t decide who to put my money on. Probably Jovie, since I doubt Rose would be cutthroat enough to win when it comes to her. With me, on the other hand…
She’s got all the cards.
“What do you do on your dates?”
Rose’s gaze darts to me for a millisecond. “We have dinner and watch movies.”
Maybe our Q&A came in handy for once. Or it could be my date suggestions are boring and basic. She never did tell me her favorite date ideas. I’m only now realizing I should have asked.
Jovie giggles. “Romanticmovies?”
Rose leans closer. “Sometimes.”
“Does he grumble through them like he does withZootopia, but he secretly really likes them?”
Rose gazes up at me, one eyebrow lifted.
“I like the bunny,” I tell her. “She deserved the win.”
“Reed likes sunshines,” Nathan says helpfully from his spot on the couch. “They’re his catnip.”
He’s one smart remark away from getting dragged outside.
