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“Mac and cheese?”
She smiled. “Buffalo-style, just like you like it.”
“YES!” He picked up two of the containers and headed for the side door.
“I’ll get the brownies, rolls, and broccoli salad,” I told her.
“Great. Thank you.”
I headed toward the door when Kye walked back inside. He smiled, but I could see the concern in his expression.
“You coming to the shop too?”
“Yes,” I replied.
He paused for a moment, then nodded. “Okay, yeah, good.” Then, he continued back to the kitchen.
That didn’t help my worry that I shouldn’t go. I took the things and put them in the back of the black SUV, where the trunk was open. Trinity was behind me with a large pot of creamed potatoes that she’d said were Gage’s favorite. She’d also made some gravy to go with it.
“Uh, maybe I should stay here.” I decided to try getting out of this again. She’d been adamant that I go before.
She set the pot down. “Absolutely not. You’re getting out of this house. I cooked for an army, and you are eating with everyone.”
“Last two,” Kye said, coming up behind her.
We moved out of the way, and Trinity took my hand and pulled me to the passenger seat.
“Get in,” she said, then climbed in the back.
Reluctantly, I got in the SUV just as Kye was opening the driver’s door across from me. He looked over at me and did a quick once-over.
“The outfit is hot,” he told me.
“Thank you,” I replied.
He always seemed to know when I needed reassurance. Not that I wanted Kye to think I was hot, but I hadn’t seen Levi in three days. I wanted to look nice for him. Which was probably a bad thing to want, but I couldn’t help it. I did.
Kye turned on the country music station, and thankfully, there wasn’t much talk, so I could mentally prepare for how to handle seeing Levi. I wasn’t going to run into his arms, clearly. He’d not seemed that anxious to see me. Our relationship hadn’t changed just because I’d gotten naked for him, and I wanted to groan from embarrassment, thinking about it.
What if, after he thought about it for a while, he was bothered by what we had done? Maybe he didn’t like that I would do that. I wished I hadn’t now. It would have made this less stressful.
When the SUV pulled up in the parking lot, my anxiety shot up tenfold. We were here. Crap. The others opened their doors, and I winced as I reached for mine. I wished I had stayed at the house.
Getting out of the SUV, I glanced at my white sundress that Levi had bought for me. I wanted him to see me in it. He would like that. I should feel confident. This was going to be fine. I made my way to the back of the SUV and took out the three items I’d carried out to it earlier, then followed Trinity and Kye to the entrance. Kye held the door open as we walked inside.
There was a front desk with a counter, and Gage looked up from it when the door opened.
“Food. Hell yes,” he said.
“There is more in the trunk,” Kye told him.
Gage nodded and headed that way. When he saw me, a small frown touched his face, and that sick knot was back in my stomach. None of them thought I should be here. I just wanted to leave.
“Uh, hey, Aspen,” he said loudly, which was odd.
“Hey,” I replied, confused.
“Maybe you should, uh …” He rubbed his forehead. “Fuck it. He deserves it,” he muttered, then walked past me to the door.
