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“Behave,” I warn, though there’s no danger in the word.
“Or what?” I feel his smile against my skin. “I think I want to find out what happens if I don’t.”
His voice deepens to a rumble, and I find myself wondering the same thing, but then Bobbi comes back holding a white paper bag, hair stuffed beneath a beanie, cheeks pink in the fall night.
She pulls me aside. “Hey, can I talk to you for a second?”
I share a glance with Lawton and untangle myself. “Sure.”
We take a seat on a hay bale, and she hands me the bag. “What are these?” I say.
She raises a shoulder. “Apology cookies. Well, more like apology energy bites. They’ve got extra protein, like you like.”
I try to remember when I told her about my food preferences, but it’s not like I announce my macro targets once I hit them, so Lawton must have said something. I’ve never had anyone bake me apology cookies, and I’m not sure what the etiquette is here.
Is this a hugging situation?
“Thanks,” I say, peering in the bag. “But… for what?”
“For everything with Dragon.” She pauses, picking at her nails. “Do you hate me now?”
“Of course not,” I admit. I’d say that even if I did hate her, though. “Dragon could probably sense I wasn’t a horse girl, and that’s why he went rogue on me.”
“Are you sure you’re not just saying that but harboring a grudge? Because I’ve been spiraling.”
I lift a corner of my mouth. It’s sweet, her spiraling. Or it’s all an act, and she secretly scalps her victims on the weekends for fun but, so far, her Find My Friends location hasn’t shown any unfamiliar places. “I promise. No grudges to be held here.”
She nods to Lawton. “What about Luke? Is he pissed at me? He seemed kind of terrified when you were on that horse.”
Terrified? For me? No. Lawton doesn’t scare easy. “He’s fine, but I’m sorry he snapped at you. He can be a little intense sometimes.”
“Yeah, but it was cute. There are some marriages where you’re like, ‘they’re definitely getting divorced,’ but I can tell you guys have something real.”
I’m not sure how to respond, so I go with something cliché. “When you know, you know, I guess.”
“You should have seen him while you were in the shower last night. He went full-on overprotective husband. He actually told Arch ‘if anything happens to my wife, you’ll have to deal with me.’ ”
Shock rattles through me. “He really said that?”
“He did.” She tucks a curl behind her ear. “I think it was supposed to be intimidating, but I thought it was adorable. He really cares about you.”
My chest warms. I don’t know what’s real with Lawton anymore, if his concern is genuine or part of the facade or somewhere in the middle. A tiny part of me likes knowing he might care, but the louder voice in my head is worrying about what to do with that realization.
She examines the divot between my brows. “Why do you seem surprised by that?”
I instantly smooth my expression. I’m about to lie and say I’m not, but she needs to like me. If I open up, maybe she will too, and then she’ll let something slip that I can use. Like her favorite burial spots.
I do my best to seem put out, but I still let a sliver of the truth tumble out of me. “Luke and I… Our parents don’t really like each other, and I didn’t trust him for the longest time. I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like I revert back to that and end up pushing him away.”
Bobbi squeezes my arm. “When the in-laws hate each other, it can be rough, but it’s obvious he’s obsessed with you.”
“Obsessed? No. I’d say that more about you and Arch. You two seem perfect for each other,” I hedge.
I study every micro expression on her face, looking for any wince, something to show she’s uncomfortable with him, but all she does is smile wryly. “That’s because you haven’t heard him snore. It annoys the hell out of me, but he also goes down on me every morning, so pick your battles, you know?”
I cough on nothing. “Shit, Bobbi.”
She grins, completely unashamed. “Sorry, I’m an oversharer.”
