AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I can’t wait to meet him,” she said, the giddiness evident in her voice.
“I wonder if Rush likes margaritas,” I remarked absently.
“He’d be a fool not to,” Rowena snorted.
Chapter 18
Rush~
After spending the weekend with Landry, I wasn’t surprised to be pulling up to a well-to-do manor. As much as I’d done my best to stay inside her all weekend long, we’d had to come up for air, food, and showers. It’d been during those times that we had talked about our work, our families, and had really gotten to know each other. So, when Landry had mentioned that her best friend was married to Mark Braden, I hadn’t been surprised when Landry had texted me the address to where she was. Though Mark and I didn’t run in the same circles, he was successful enough to be considered at the top of the food chain with most of the successful men in the state.
Getting out of the car, I made my way up the steps, then pressed the doorbell. Even though I knew to expect a drunk Landry to greet me, I was hoping to meet Rowena and Mark. Rowena was her best friend, and I knew that this couple was going to become a big part of my life going forward. I was playing for keeps when it came to Landry, and I had no desire to be one of those couples that had separate friends. With us as busy as we both were, any and all our free time was going to be spent together, and that included our time with our friends.
When the door swung open, Mark Braden was standing on the other end, his face saying it all. “They’re drunker than skunks in the back.”
I grinned as I reached my arm out to shake his hand. “Rush Crawford.”
Mark took my hand. “Yeah, I know,” he replied, grinning back. “Your face is everywhere, man.”
I shrugged as my hand dropped to my side. “Yeah, it kind of goes with the territory.”
“Well, I’m Mark Braden, and you’ll meet my wife, Rowena, soon enough,” he sighed. “While I love Landry to death, those two women together is always cause for concern. Until you came into Landry’s life, I always forced her to sleep it off in one of the spare bedrooms because I just don’t trust them.”
I laughed at that. “Can’t have two drunk girls casting spells on the unsuspecting public, huh?”
Mark stepped back to let me inside his house. “You have no idea how grateful I am that Rowena’s gifts are limited,” he snorted. “If she could actually cast spells, I have no idea what I’d do.”
“Well, lead the way,” I said. “Let’s see what we got.”
I followed Mark through the house, and after walking through the first half of the manor, we finally came upon a room large enough to be an office of sorts. However, it was clear by the décor that this was not an office. It was Rowena’s reading room-that’s what Landry had called it-and it was also clear that both women were a few notches above buzzed.
“Told you,” Mark muttered as he led me into the room.
“Hey, baby.”
Landry looked over at me, her eyes red and white as a candy cane, and she smiled like it was Christmas morning, though I knew that it had more to do with the tequila running through her veins than it was due to seeing me.
“It’s you,” she beamed.
I nodded. “It’s me.”
“Mark, have you met Rush?” she asked as she stood up from the chair to make her way over. However, it was clear that my feet were way more steadier than hers. So, rushing over, I made sure to place my hands on her hips, holding her firmly.
“Yes, I did,” Mark answered, smiling. “I answered the door for him, Landry.”
“I got you,” I whispered, Landry leaning into me.
Smiling up at me, she said, “Well, now you need to meet Rowena.”
I looked over at the redhead that was grinning our way, and her eyes were just as brilliantly red as Landry’s were. Mark was also placing a kiss on the top of her head, and it was clear that Mark Braden held a lot of affection for his wife. You never knew when marriages involved money, but it was clear to see that Mark had married his wife for love.
“Hello, Rowena,” I greeted. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Your colors are wonky,” she blurted, and I had no idea what that meant.
“I’m sorry?”
She gestured towards my person, her hand flinging every which way. “Your colors are wonky.”
