Page 64 of Sundown Somewhere

My cheeks instantly heat, and I look away. Yeah, Hux knows what he’s doing. That’s an understatement if there ever was one. Still, there are some conversations that just aren’t meant for public spaces. And this is quickly entering that territory. Hell, we might already be there if Mrs. Ngo’s reaction was anything to go by.

“Wait.” Alice holds up her hands. “How?”

“Ummm…” Emily repeats her hand motions, giving Alice a look that says, “Duh! We just covered this.”

Alice brushes her off, ignoring the borderline obnoxious gesture. “Not what I mean…this doesn’t…holy cow, the lunch specials,” she comments, half under her breath, like a detective on a cop show who just found the missing puzzle piece. “I knew there was something up.”

“Huh?”

Now she’s lost me.

“You’ve been home from the beach a little over a week. And you’ve made a different lunch special pretty much every day. Today’s lunch special was meatloaf. Meatloaf. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen you make meatloaf—it’s not even on Dolly’s menu.” She looks at me squarely, shaking her head, her smile giving away her excitement. “But do you know who loves meatloaf?”

Hux…

“Hux.” She says his name so pointedly it almost sounds like it’s the answer to the million-dollar question on a game show.

My cheeks heat even more. Busted. Sort of.

“Actually, that’s only partly true. I’m also revamping Dolly’s menu,” I announce.

I perk up, another wave of excitement hitting me. This project has been a long time coming, and it feels good to have it finally be a reality.

“Sorry I’m late, y’all! It was a day and a half…” Margeaux says, her excuse locked and loaded. Not that we’re buying it, the love bite on her neck giving her away. “What’d I miss?”

“I told them about the menu revamp,” I reply, burying the lede.

“How exciting!”

Margeaux’s reaction is truly impressive. To the point where I almost think it’s a shame she isn’t a defense lawyer, because I’d be willing to share any secret with her and let her lie on my behalf in court.

Because she knows. And I know she knows, because she and Gus came home to the house he shares with Hux and Jace to find the two of us mid make out while I cooked dinner for the group. There was no hiding it from either of them after that. Not that I thought there would be any hiding it from the Hayes boys to begin with—or Margeaux or Brenna. Gus and Milo weren’t about to keep secrets from their partners.

“You knew?” Alice whisper-shouts. Turning to me, mouth agape, she looks borderline hurt. “You told Margeaux but not us?”

“In her defense, she didn’t so much tell me as it was…err…discovered…” Margeaux answers, choosing her words carefully.

“OMG, did y’all break another couch?” Rose asks.

“First off, I was not the one he broke the first couch with.” I swallow hard, not wanting to think about whatever bar bimbo that actually was. “Second⁠—”

“She was on the counter,” Margeaux teases.

“Dolly was on the menu,” Emily quips.

“We were kissing!” I hiss, swatting at her. Emily dodges out of the way, her giggles filling the air.

I stop abruptly, Mrs. Ngo appearing behind Alice, a plate of pot stickers in one hand and rangoon in the other. Giving me a stern look, she slides them on the table, then huffs out a breath through her nose. I’m more than a little surprised not to see smoke come out.

“When you ready to order, call for Susan.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She spins on her heels, Emily barely containing her laughter at the small woman’s indignance. Margeaux looks between us, silently asking what that was all about.

“She doesn’t approve of our dinner conversation,” Em explains. “Or at least Dolly declaring that she had her first orgasm in six years as she’s about to deliver our tea.”

“That’s not what I said!”