Page 83 of Trick or Tease

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GARRETT

Isat at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of coffee while Billy worked the stove, flipping pancakes and humming. He was wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants that I was pretty sure he had since high school. I was wearing Nike joggers and a T-shirt. I only put on my shirt because I didn’t want to answer questions about the war wounds on my back and shoulders. Sabrina had gotten a little carried away. Not that I minded.

It had been amazing.

That woman could turn me inside out. Sex with her was an experience. It wasn’t just about getting off. It was mind, body, and soul. And we had yet to use a bed. Last night, I thought about bringing her back to my bed, but she didn’t want to deal with the questions Billy would have. He wouldn’t be mad but he would definitely be curious.

But I was pretty damn sure if Lucy knew, Billy knew. They were that kind of couple. They had been together forever and were best friends. And lovers. That was the kind of relationship that meant there were no secrets.

“These are all done,” Billy said, sliding a stack onto a plate and bringing it over. He dropped it in front of me with a grin. “You’re gonna need the fuel today. We’ve got a lot to get done.”

“Thanks,” I said, reaching for the syrup. “You’re turning into quite the chef.”

He laughed, sitting down across from me with his own plate. “Yeah, well, Lucy’s been teaching me. Says I’m not a total lost cause in the kitchen. I’m trying anyway.”

“You’re better than me,” I admitted, cutting into the pancake. “If it wasn’t for takeout and delivery, I would live off peanut butter sandwiches.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” he said. “Peanut butter is the best.”

“True, but I occasionally need to eat something green,” I said, grinning. “Does that mean I’m getting old?”

“Absolutely,” he said without hesitation.

I chuckled. “Thanks.”

We ate in comfortable silence, the only sound the clink of forks against plates. Then Billy looked up at me, his expression serious.

“Garrett, I just wanted to say thanks. For all your help with this whole festival thing. I’ve been thinking about doing something like this for a while, but you’ve really stepped up and made it happen.”

I shook my head, brushing off the compliment. “It’s not me. You and Sabrina came up with all this stuff. You’ve been putting in the work long before I came back. I’m just here to help. Right place at the right time.”

“Yeah, but it’s more than that,” he insisted. “You’ve got this way of turning chaos into order. Well, not order. These crowds have been insane. But you took charge like a damn general the other day when everyone was frozen. You really saved our bacon. Kept us from getting overwhelmed.”

“That was just instinct.” I shrugged. “You would have jumped in if I hadn’t.”

“Not that smoothly.” Billy shook his head. “Whatever, dude. I’m just saying, I’m glad you stuck around to help. It’s good to have someone I can trust watching my back.”

I hesitated, dragging a chunk of pancake in the syrup on my plate. It felt like an opening to mention the appraisal, but I wasn’t sure how to bring it up without sounding opportunistic. I needed to feel him out. See where his head was at.

“Billy, what are your goals with all this? I mean, long-term. Where do you see this going?”

He frowned, thinking it over. “Honestly? I just want to make it work. The farm’s been struggling for years, and if we can turn a profit off this, pay off some of the debts, that’d be huge. It’d take a lot of pressure off.”

“Yeah,” I said, nodding. I debated if I should circle around more before asking him. Then I decided I needed to jump in. “And if there was money left over? What would you do with it?”

He looked down at his plate, a sheepish smile appearing. “Okay, to be honest, if we can make some extra cash, I’m going to propose to Lucy. I’ve been waiting forever, but I didn’t want to ask her until I could give her something solid, you know? A real future. A nice ring she can show off. The wedding of her dreams and a real honeymoon.”

I stared at him, surprised. I hadn’t expected that. “Billy, that’s awesome. Really?”

He grinned and stuffed another large bite into his mouth. “I think about proposing every day. She keeps me moving forward, even when things get hard. I’m determined to give her the life she deserves.”

“Would you ever consider selling the farm?” I asked, throwing it out there like a hand grenade. I watched, studying his reaction. It was a bold approach but I wanted to see his unguarded response.

He chewed, swallowed, and then took a drink of coffee. “Not unless I had no other choice,” he answered.

“Yeah?” I asked, waiting for him to elaborate.