Page 64 of The True-Blue Romance

I love them all so much it could destroy me.

The scent of barbecue fills the air as Beau mans the grill, Colby at his side like always.

“You know, I always knew you’d end up together,” Harper says haughtily. “I actually used to have a crush on you both.”

“That’s weird,” Joey says quickly, grimace on his face. “You’re like a little cousin.”

Harper’s eyes sharpen. “We are not blood related, Joseph.”

“Right,” Joey agrees, albeit hesitantly. “Well. No more crush, yeah?”

“Hmmm.” Harper looks back over his shoulder at Jackson, who’s watching the interaction with keen eyes. “Perhaps not. Who knows.”

“Harper,” I say on a laugh while hurrying to envelop him in a hug. “Never change.”

“I am far too old to change now.”

“True,” Nolan pipes up. “He’s set in his ways like an old horse about to be sent out to pasture.”

Harper points at Joey, eyes wide and chin lifted in the air. “Nolan Hastings, you would’ve wanted him, too, when you were twelve years old and learning you liked boys. He wore a bandana and was always shirtless.”

“Not any different than now,” I tease, bumping my shoulder into Joey’s.

“Nah,” Nolan says quickly, angling his head to find Benji, who’s kneeling in the dirt to pick flowers for Savannah. “Joey never would’ve been my type. Maybe Lee though. I love a good smile.”

“I have a good smile?” I ask, genuinely confused. I’ve never thought twice about my smile my entire life. Everyone in the crowd chuckles, not at my expense, but probably at my inability to accurately see myself after all these years.

“You have the best smile,” Joey reassures me just before kissing my cheek.

“All right, so, Jackson won,” Trevor announces as he steps outside with a large tray of Cindy’s famous hummingbird cake.

“Jackson won what?” I ask curiously, unsure why everyone is laughing.

Trevor sets the cake down and takes out a bundle of cash. He hands it to Jackson with a wink. “You owe me half though.”

Jackson grumbles and counts out half the cash, handing it back to Trevor. “You had insider knowledge. You rigged the field.”

Trevor holds up one finger. “Ah. We didn’t set any rules about helping them realize they were in love. We just bet how long it would take.”

“I bet that you were already together,” Nolan says with a wolfish grin. “I still think you kind of were, you just didn’t know it.”

“You had bets about us?” Joey asks with a disbelieving laugh. “Seriously?”

“I did not bet, just putting that out there,” Benji says quickly.

Nolan pinches Benji’s cheek and crunches up his nose. “’Cause you’re a cutie. And you said you were afraid betting would interfere with the universe.”

“Well,” Benji says shyly.

“Universe always gets what it wants,” Colby says with finality.

He’s right.

The universe does always get what it wants.

We share barbecue and hummingbird cake that Cindy probably spent the entire day perfecting. The heat bugs sing loudly out deep in the property. Savannah laughs loudly as Benji carefully braids flowers into her messy curls, all of us watching on fondly. The day feels hazy and warm, love radiating into me in ways I never expected. Joey slings an arm over my shoulders, smelling so perfectly like him—like the way your house smells after a few weeks away, home and comfort and where all your worries slip away. That’s Joey for me. Always has been. Always will be.

“It’s a perfect day,” I say softly, for only Joey to hear.