Page 47 of Small Town Boy

“I’ll show you dirty.”

I choke on my drink, taken aback by his brazen comment. Then I notice that no one else is. In fact, no one else seems to be paying attention. Both couples are focused on each other. I glance over to Noel, and he’s looking at…me. Heat rushes up the back of my neck, and I quickly take another sip, trying to cool myself down.

“Pigs will sprout wings and fly first.”

“You could just get your own drinks, you know.”

“Then we would have absolutely zero purpose for you,” Willa quips, landing him with a snarky smile.

“They’ve been like this for years,” Noel whispers in my ear. His breath tickles my skin, the heat rushing up me even faster now.

I have to fight my body, who is trying to lean into him. We’re not there. Yet. No. No…we’re not going there. At all. I might be all kinds of curious if he’s as good with those hands as he is with his lips, and my own heart might be changing its tune about our commitment to singledom, but no. I need to focus on work. Maybe once the Turkey Trot is over and I have proven that I have what it takes, then I can think about something else. Until then…nothing.

“Why?” I inquire back. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen Willa get an attitude where Nash is concerned. I hadn’t realized until right now, though, that this was a constant state.

“That’s the million-dollar question,” he tells me, his voice still hushed so only I can hear. “It’s a combination of ‘really long story’ and ‘who the fuck knows.’ Some days we’re not sure if they need a boxing ring or to be locked in a room to fuck it out.”

“A boxing ring,” I answer, holding back the duh. Is he watching the same discussion I am?

“In this moment, maybe. Promise you, there are times you’d think it was the other option.”

“And you really don’t know?” I turn to face him, leaving Nash and Willa to bicker behind me.

“I don’t know everything. Pieces, but not the whole thing. We might be twins, but we’re different people.” There’s a tone I can’t place to his voice as he says it. It’s harsh and rough, attached to something deep in him. “He has things he plays close to the vest. And this is one of them.”

“I guess we’re all entitled to our secrets.”

“Indeed.”

“Bronwyn,” Dustin says from across the table, stealing my attention. “Kenzie says that you’re revamping the Turkey Trot?”

“Something like that. It’s not going to be a complete overhaul. It’s not like I’m suddenly going to make the route twice as long or change it so people have to run backward or something.”

“They’ve told you there isn’t a lot of actual running involved, right?” Camden asks, cutting in. “This is more of a Gobble Wobble than an actual trot.”

Gobble Wobble…

“Camden, that’s brilliant! OMG, seriously, perfect.” I spin to look at Willa, who is casually sipping her too clean martini, trying her best to ignore the man to her right. “Can we change the name? Is that allowed?”

“We can do whatever we want.”

“Gobble Wobble it is then! Alice Evans over at Oh, My Lard! said she’d donate a mini personal sized pie for everyone who signed up and donated, so we can hand those out at the finish line. We’ll just have to get with Anton to make sure he’s donating whatever she needs, so we can include it in the press release that the pies were made with Hayes ingredients.”

“That part is easy.”

“Gah, I love it when an idea comes together. And if—I mean, when—this is a success, it’s going to be the perfect launch for Hayes Gives Back. And once that is underway, we can officially brand it, trademark it, and start putting it on packaging. Camden, you’re a genius!”

“Happy to help!” he says with a laugh.

The conversation shifts to Dustin’s tour and how he only has a few more dates until he’s done until after the first of the year. Kenzie is clearly counting down the days until she has him back here full time—at least for a couple of months.

It’s strange listening to the conversation about him being famous and so in demand, having only met him in situations like this. Getting to know the real Dustin—or Dustin Wilder, as Kenzie puts it, rather than Dustin Wild the country star—has been fun.

“It’s gonna be a busy spring, on the road mid-January through early March, then Small Town Star filming basically right up ’til the wedding the first week in April,” he says.

“Don’t worry, we have wedding planning under control,” Willa tells him.

“Pretty sure that’s exactly what he’s worried about,” Nash mutters.