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I nodded, then sighed as I crossed my arms over my chest. I felt exposed again, vulnerable, like I did a few days ago when I’d called off my wedding. I looked up at Dylan and saw his face coming closer to mine, and I thought he was going to kiss me. I closed my eyes and readied myself for the warmth of his lips, but then I felt him pull back.
So far back, in fact, that he physically took a step away from me.
“Hey guys,” Dylan said. “What’s up?”
“We got that barbecue tonight,” Caleb said. “You gonna carry your weight this time, or am I gonna have to pick up your slack again?”
“Ah, the closin’ barbecue. Nope. You don’t have to pick up anything for me. I’ll make sure to stop by the grocery store and get more beer,” Dylan said.
“Good. Caleb’s roundin’ up that buckin’ bronco one last time. I’m gettin’ one last propane tank. And Wyatt’s gonna double-check on the food and get anythin’ we might be low on,” Andrew said.
“Then I guess I better use my break to run into town,” Dylan said as he smiled down at me. “Katie, thank you again for helpin’ us durin’ the meetin’.”
“Yes, that was a massive help,” Wyatt said. “Thank you.”
“It’s really not a problem. But I need to go. The lawyer’s waiting for me, and I want to make a good first impression,” I said.
“Blame it on us, and if he has any issues send him down to my office,” Caleb said.
“Thanks,” I said with a smile.
I cleared my throat and left, casting one last glance back at Dylan. I knew we couldn’t act on anything in front of the his brothers, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t toss him a kind smile.
I went and met with the lawyer who walked me through the day-to-day protocol, paperwork I had to look over and things I had to check during the day. It was all easy stuff, and he started teaching me how to use the system on the computer. Making sure everything was in order meant going through every reservation and making sure customers didn’t have complaints. I had to familiarize myself with the basic contracts of the hotel, from employee contracts to room contracts to building contracts. It was a lot to study, and it would take me a few weeks to really get the hang of things, but it felt good to be using my degree.
Even if it wasn’t what I really wanted to do with it.
I was ready for my girls. I didn’t leave the resort until well after five, and my brain was fried. I buzzed home and threw open the door, then texted Lizzie and told her to head over with food. I pulled out the six-pack of beer I had in my fridge and set it on the couch, waiting for Lizzie to get here so I could have one.
I was serious about my rules, and I wasn’t going to start breaking them now.
“Hey there! Lizzie there yet?”
“Nope. She’s on her way with food. You got yours?” I asked.
“Chinese takeout and wine,” Whitney said. “What’s Lizzie bringing?”
“Probably pizza. When it’s her turn to pay, it’s always pizza,” I said.
“So, pizza and beer? I see that six-pack on the couch. There’s still six in it, right?”
“Yes, ma’am. Hasn’t changed in six years, and it isn’t about to change now. Speaking of, I told Dylan today about it.”
“You did?”
“Yeah.”
“How much did you tell him? How did he take it?”
“He was shocked. You have to keep in mind, I drank regularly with these guys all throughout my senior year. They didn’t see out-of-control me, just happy-go-tipsy me. I gave him the summary. How seeing all those happy families in parks and stuff really did me in. How the parties on the weekend morphed into parties during the week. Stuff like that.”
“Are you going to tell any of the other brothers?” Whitney asked.
“She needs to,” Lizzie said.
“There she is!” Whitney said. “About time. Whatcha got?”
“A very large three-meat pizza and a six-pack of beer to replace the one we’re gonna go ham on tonight,” Lizzie said
