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He gestured behind him toward the crowd of people patiently waiting for me to get my shit together. “May wanna tell them.”
I smiled when he grinned and lifted to my tiptoes to call out over his shoulder, “I’m good.”
I heard laughter and peeked out around Bear to see Maggie walking our way while the other women began to talk amongst themselves. Maggie moved right in and wrapped her arms around me. “Are you upset we did this?”
“No.” I leaned back and decided to share some honesty. “Just emotional since Wyatt was born. I don’t know why.” I looked back and forth between my two best friends and smiled again. “But this is amazing. I can’t believe you did this for me.”
“All new moms deserve this,” Josie replied.
“Okay.” I exhaled loudly. “I’m ready.”
Maggie leaned in closer to me, and we walked out into the crowd. I was greeted with a lot of congratulations but not many questions about Wyatt. I think everyone wanted me to have a day without worry. And truthfully, I wanted that too. I wanted one day to forget. Looking around, I was shocked by how much work the girls had put into this baby shower. The whole bar area was covered in streamers and balloons. I couldn’t even imagine who they made help hang the signs, but the idea of it made me feel a little lighter.
Josie kicked the guys out, and we ate before I opened a stack of presents that ensured I wouldn’t need to buy anything for Wyatt. We chatted for a while and drank wine, all of which was doing a lot to improve my mood. Maybe this was what I needed to pull myself away from the misery cloud that seemed to follow me.
The crowd began to thin as the afternoon wore on until only a few girls were left. I heard Bear’s office door slam and knew he was coming out. He made his way toward our group with Gunner by his side, but before he could say anything, the front door opened, and Race walked in. His eyes scanned the room before landing on me and heading my way. Heat filled me when his eyes locked on mine and held them as he walked. People called out to him, but he only lifted his hand in a wave. His stare never left mine, and before I knew it, he was standing in front of me.
“Looks like you got everything.”
Bear grunted. “If she didn’t, the rest won’t fit in my place.”
Needing to look away from Race, I shifted my attention to Bear and laughed. “I think I should be good.
“Who needs a drink?” Gunner asked.
We all turned to follow Gunner to the bar, and I slid onto a stool, waiting for my brother and Gunner to make the drinks. I was surprised when Race moved behind the bar and started working. Maybe Bear had already asked him to help out, but they wouldn’t really need the help. Only a handful of people were left. Without permission, my eyes slid along the muscles in his back when he turned to grab some bottles from behind the bar. Race had always been built, but it seemed he was becoming even more muscular since he worked so much on the construction sites.
He turned back to the bar and caught me ogling him. I expected him to smirk or do something equally annoying to piss me off, but he didn’t. Instead, his eyes held mine for a long moment before he finished what he was doing.
When he slid a glass in front of me, I was surprised. “What’s this?”
“Your favorite.”
Lifting the glass to my lips, I took a drink and smiled when I tasted the cranberry and vodka drink I favored. He grabbed a bottle of beer for himself and leaned his elbows on the bar top. “Is it alright?”
“It’s good.” I watched him closely, wondering how he remembered the drink I liked from all those years ago. There had been a time when he was a prospect that we drank together at this same bar, but that was a long time ago. “How do you know my favorite drink?”
“I just do,” he answered mysteriously and pushed off the bar. I watched him as he moved around the bar until he stood next to where I sat.
“Let me know when you need another,” he said quietly.
I drank quickly, enjoying both the taste and the fact that the weight I’d been carrying for so long felt as if it was lifting. I listened to the conversation at the other end of the bar and laughed along with everyone. I finished my drink and had just set down my empty glass when Race moved around the bar, picked up the glass, and refilled it.
I didn’t say anything, and neither did he. We just continued listening and laughing along with everyone else. When the conversation turned to what sounded like the beginning of a competition, I paid closer attention.
I pressed in tighter against the bar to see the other end when I heard Bear’s voice and immediately saw the scowl on his face. “You don’t drink.”
“I do drink,” Josie declared. “When I feel like it.”
Bull smirked. “You feel like it today?”
Josie smiled at Bull. “I think I might.”
He snorted out a laugh. “You have any idea what you’re agreein’ to?”
I waited for Josie’s response, but I could already anticipate it. She didn’t back down from much, and something told me that Bear insisting she didn’t do this was the primary reason she wanted to. “Do you?”
“Woo-hoo!” I called out and smiled when Josie laughed. “Looks like we got a fun night ahead of us.”
