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“I don’t know...” Derrick pursed his mouth even as Calder and Max both leaned in. We were outnumbered. Damn it.
“You’re not getting out of this.” Calder had the same self-assured grin that usually got him exactly what he wanted.
Opening and shutting his mouth without saying anything, Derrick shot me a helpless look. And I supposed I owed him after he’d helped me with the kids. I didn’t like it, but I could be the bigger person than my stupid brothers.
“It’s okay.” I shrugged like I hadn’t been counting down the seconds until we could get horizontal. “I need to work on some more choreography for the kids.”
“Thanks. And good luck.” He nodded at me like that was that, and I supposed it was.
Nothing left to do but eat and then head back to the cabin on my own. I took a long, lonely shower then collapsed on the bed with my tablet. Unable to concentrate on my music, I stared hard at the locked door. Derrick better hurry indeed.
Chapter Seventeen
Derrick
“I’ve got you right where I want you.” Calder laughed wickedly as he set his beer aside.
“So you think,” I said mildly, not grabbing the bait. We’d been friends so many years that he undoubtedly thought he had all my tells memorized. Thus, I’d extra worked hard the whole evening to not reveal a damn thing about where I’d rather be.
Because Calder might be having the time of his life, playing cards and shooting the breeze with his friends and brothers, but I was most decidedly not where I wanted to be. Where I wanted to be was back in the cabin with Arthur, finally putting an end to all this teasing between us. And every time my mind wandered back to him and my endless fantasies, I lost another hand and ended up suckered into another game.
“Raise?” Calder pushed more chips into the pot.
“Yep.” I matched his call.
“I’m out.” Predictably, Max folded. He was the type of rock who only ever stayed in when his winning was almost assured. I’d played enough with Calder over the years to know that playing it safe seldom paid off, and sure enough, I won on a backdoor flush, turning my two hearts into a flush with a lucky deal.
“Damn it. How’d you do that?” Calder grimaced before taking another swig of beer. The tension in his shoulders and jaw said that he was about to ask for a rematch so I made a big show of yawning.
“Talent. Guess I’m just better.” I yawned and laughed more. “And I’m out now too.”
“Leaving? We’re just getting started!” Calder’s wheedling tone and determined grin made him look younger. And he was fun, as always, but I still pushed away from the table before he could talk me into staying.
“I’m tired and lord only knows what your family has planned for the morning.”
“Hiking. Five bucks says Arthur fakes an injury to get out of it.” Calder rolled his eyes. “But it’s a nice view. You should come.”
I was planning to come, very soon, but in a whole different context. And right then, faking something to get to sleep in with Arthur sounded amazing, not that I was telling the guys that.
“I’ll see you in the morning. Probably in better shape than you.” I gestured at the beer bottles and card table.
“F-off.” Motioning me toward the door, Calder gave a good-natured chuckle. “I don’t do hangovers.”
“Uh-huh. Night.” Free at last, I headed back to my cabin with Arthur at a fast clip. I hoped like hell he was still awake so I could make up the wait to him. But I pulled up short as I reached the porch. The front window was dark, no light peeking around the drawn curtains. Damn it. I let myself in, trying to be as quiet as possible in case he really was asleep. I toed off my shoes and crept into the room.
“Arthur? You awake?” I whispered at the lump in the bed.
“Yeah. Barely.” Rolling over, he held up his glowing tablet before flipping on the low light of the bedside lamp. “I’m almost out of battery power.”
I knelt by his side of the bed and brushed his floppy hair out of his eyes. “I’m sorry that took so long.”
“It’s okay.” Sighing softly, he stretched into my touch. “We’re getting enough teasing without adding Calder into the mix. I get not wanting him to know that we had...plans.”
“Trust me, I’ve still got plans.” I ghosted a kiss across his mouth, relieved at how he rolled toward me, not shutting me out despite me maybe deserving the cold shoulder. “I could barely focus on cards. All I could think about was earlier, how good you tasted.”
“Yeah?” Eyes warm, he leered at me.
“Yeah. And now you smell nice too.” Burying my face in his silky soft hair, I inhaled deeply. The sunscreen scent had been replaced by more of his usual mint and tea clean scent. He hadn’t totally shaved, but his scruff looked newly trimmed and his hair was still slightly damp. “Enjoy your shower?”
