Page 61 of Nixon’s Promise

Belatedly, I realized Duke had stopped pacing and barking. I looked up from the cutting board.

Sweet Jesus.

I glanced at Mandy and her eyes were wide and she was practically drooling. I would’ve scolded her for staring if I hadn’t been doing the same.

Nixon Swagger was the hottest man I’d ever laid eyes on. But his friend? He was the runner-up. A very close second. Light brown hair, tall, and built just as well as Nix if the tee pulled tight across his chest was any indication.

Did they not make shirts the right size for buff men?

“McKenna,” Nix growled, and my eyes snapped to his.

“Yeah?”

He stalked the small distance, tagged me around my waist like he’d done when I met his friend Alec, and held me close.

His friend busted out laughing.

“Christ,” his friend said through his hilarity. “It’s just too fuckin’ easy.”

I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but damn if his smile didn’t change his whole appearance. If he had a girlfriend, I bet she tried to make him laugh often.

“Mouth!” Nix scowled.

Holden shook his head and looked at Mandy. “Excuse my language, Amanda.”

My sister rocked back on her heels and she smiled brightly.

Moving on.

“Hi, Holden, nice to meet you,” I greeted.

“You, too. Thanks for having me for dinner. Hope I’m not imposing.”

“You’re not,” Mandy told him. “Micky always cooks way too much. There’s plenty.”

“Need any help?” Holden answered.

“Nope,” I rushed out, knowing if the men stayed in the kitchen, I’d lose Mandy altogether and I still needed her to finish smashing the avocados. “We’re almost done. Nix, grab you and Holden a beer and go sit on the patio. Or if you want something strong, there may be some tequila in the cabinet above the fridge.”

“Beer’s fine.” He kissed my forehead before he pulled away.

Thankfully, this was not one of the times where Nixon was going to argue about sitting while I was still up working, because I really needed them out of the house before my sister fainted.

“Where’s Zack?” I asked when I realized he wasn’t in the house.

“He’s outside on the phone.”

“On the phone, like, talking on it?”

“Yeah,” Nix answered like I was a dim bulb and didn’t understand what being on the phone meant. But Zack never talked, only texted.

“Who’s he talking to?” Mandy asked with the same shock as I had.

“A girl named Cassy,” Nix told us.

“Awesome.” Mandy beamed. We all looked at her and she continued. “Cassy Reynolds. She’s a junior, so my grade, but we’re not friends. Well, we are, but not like close or anything. She’s really pretty, but shy, so she doesn’t know how pretty she is. Like, if she’d look up every once in a while, she’d notice all the guys staring at her. I heard she had a thing for Zack, but he’s a sophomore. The girls go crazy over him which is totally gross, but I didn’t think he had enough game to get a junior on the line. Even one who was interested.”

Great.