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“Then you’re understanding perfectly,” he corrects with a laugh. “They confuse everyone. That just means your mental health checks out. Now, the people who say they love and relate to them—those are the ones we worry about.”
“How did you meet all of these people exactly?” I ask quietly with a grin, while the rest of the room continues to erupt in all sorts of verbal chaos. Which, oddly enough, I’m finding enjoyable. To be honest, I’m surprised at just how much I love Harrison’s friends’ brand of fun and crazy. I can’t remember the last time I laughed this much. If ever.
“Different places,” he answers, his voice low enough to only reach my ears. “I work for Cap’s father’s company, and I used to play rugby with Kline, Thatch, and Wes. The others have joined the group in one way or another over the last few years, and we’ve gotten close more recently.” He shrugs. “We ended up having a book club not long ago too, but that’s a long and complicated hostage story.”
I bug out my eyes. “Interesting.”
“Oh, it is. But it’s a story for another time. What about you? I haven’t met any of your friends since I’ve been out in California with you. Who do you hang out with?”
I wish I had a better answer to that question than I do, but I don’t.
“I don’t really have friends, I guess.” I shrug. “Coworkers, but they come and go. Just my team. They’ve been the only constants in my life since my brother left town.”
Harrison frowns.
“What?” I ask.
“It’s just…what a horrible set of constants.”
I sigh. “They’re not that bad.” I lift one shoulder and laugh a little. “At least, not all the time.”
“But really, Officer, he only hits me sometimes,” Harrison deadpans, and I roll my eyes.
“I’m not an abuse victim. I hardly think it’d make sense to pay my abusers to hang around.”
Harrison lifts his eyebrows meaningfully. “Exactly.”
“Can we change the subject, please?” I beg, done trying to explain my life’s choices for the night. I’ve been having way too much fun to spoil it now.
“Of course. Sorry.”
“It’s all right. I just…I just want to spend the rest of the night getting to know your friends.”
“No problem there, little lady,” Thatch says from above us, surprising me completely. For such a huge guy, he moves like a freaking mouse. “We’ve taken a vote, and the men have decided to steal you away for a little bit.”
Harrison starts shaking his head before Thatch even finishes his sentence.
“I don’t think that’s—”
“Relax, buddy, it’s happening. And you are going to have a little tea party with the ladies.”
“What?”
“It’s all set. The girls are waiting for you in the theater room.”
Harrison’s eyes widen as Thatch reaches out a hand to help me up. “Come on, Miss Raquel. We’re meeting in the smoke room—no smoke, of course. It’s a sacred room as the official meeting place of Thatch’s Book Club.”
Harrison rolls his eyes. “Still not your book club, Thatch.”
“And you’re still not a billionaire. Seems we all have our shortcomings, Harry.”
Harrison looks to me with uncertain eyes. As much as the idea of being in a room with all of these wild men seems intimidating, it also seems like a one-in-a-million opportunity and a lot of fun to boot.
Clearly, though, Harrison isn’t going to let me do it without a little reassurance.
I reach out and grab his hand with my own, squeezing tight on his fingers when he holds it back. “Go on. Go gossip with the girls, and I’ll get to know the guys. I promise I’ll be fine.”
At least, I think I’ll be fine.
Honestly, the way Thatch is smiling down at me right now with a giant, Cheshire-cat smile etched across his face is making me feel a tad bit worried about what I’m getting myself into…
Harrison
Rocky saying she’ll be fine with my crazy group of guy friends is like me saying I’m excited when Cap calls me in the middle of the day to demand stock tips.
But what can I do? She appears cool with getting to know them better, and well, my idiot friends are damn near chomping at the bit to get her by herself to ask and tell her God knows what.
“Yeah, buddy,” Thatch coos. “We’ll take great care of her.”
See what I mean?
I roll my eyes, but as Rocky starts to stand, I turn my attention to helping her up, knocking Thatch out of the way so I can be the bearer of responsibility.
She still does pretty well considering all the extra weight she’s carrying, but I know for a fact it’s not as easy as she’s making it look. I’m stuck under the load of my big, fake belly.
Once up, she heads for the smoke room at the gallant direction of Thatch, while Cap waits with a big fat smile at the doorway down the hall. I’m not very threatening from the floor, so I wait for Thatch to give me a hand up before getting in his face.
