It shouldn’t surprise me that she knows about that or even remembers since she and my sister were dragged to a lot of my games. But it does feel good in a way that only someone who’s known you so long can summon. Sometimes I forget how much a part of my life she’s been. Guess it’s easy to forget when you weren’t paying attention.
I had my eyes set on so many other things back then—playing my best for recruiters, scoring with girls, and getting into too much trouble with Tagger, to name a few.
Coming closer, she bends down to peek through the window. “It’s a beautiful car.” Standing upright again, she steps back and looks the car over from front to back. “What are you going to do with it?”
The question has me glancing at Tagger, who conveniently and guiltily looks away. At least he feels some shame for making me agree to this bet. “I want to fix her up.”
“Can I help?” she asks.
“I didn’t know you knew about cars?”
A quick pop of her shoulders leadsto her saying, “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
Right then, I know what I’m going to do.Like the car, I’m going to fix that.
CHAPTER 17
Lauralee
“I shouldn’t,”I say when Chris offers me another glass of wine. “I’ll be drunk soon, and that won’t get five hundred cupcakes frosted tonight.”
“Five hundred?” She states, “Good lord. Do you want some help?”
“I’ll get it done. I always do.”
She sets down the bottle. “Here I thought you were still living the high life, hitting Whiskey’s on a Thursday night while your old wingwoman was out here in the country growing babies. But frosting all those cupcakes makes me think I have it much easier on the ranch.”
I laugh. “I barely have a life these days. I don’t even remember the last time I went out, but here you are, a total badass superwoman. You always have been. Anyway, you never drank that much before the babies.”
“But I always had fun drinking with you.”
I reach across the table and take her hand, giving it a squeeze. “Cheers to that.”
Christine glows from happiness even when she’s not pregnant. More so when she is. I have nothing but love formy friend, even if I don’t get to spend as much time with her anymore.
However, Baylor has been a fun distraction. I glance at the far end of the table, where I find his eyes already on me. He takes a sip of his water and holds it up just enough for me to catch him silently toasting to me.
I try to keep my smile to myself so no one else notices, but when I look up, Chris’s eyes are glued to me. She glances down at Baylor and then at her husband. I swear she and Tagger speak a secret language through their eye exchanges that the rest of us aren’t privy to.
With a couple of fans positioned a few feet away, the strands that escaped my topknot tickle my face. I tuck them behind my ear and whisper to Daisy, “Come to Leelee.”
Daisy toddles to the side of me and raises her arms in the air. I lift her onto my lap and fuss with her adorable curls, hoping to mask the scent of betrayal that my friend is clearly smelling when it comes to her brother.
I look up, and say, “She’s so cute I can’t stand it. How is a being this perfectly adorable?” Unable to resist the urge, I kiss her cheeks and blow a raspberry.
Her hand pushes against my face as she giggles. “Leelee.”
Turning her around on my lap, she rests her back on my chest. Her mom grins with pride at her. “You’re looking heated, sweetie.”
Their dad had gone inside a while ago. We’re all sweating and overheating at this point. Daisy says, “Hot.”
When Christine stands from the picnic bench, she says, “I think we’re getting too deep into the summer heat for the fans to keep us cool outside. Dinner at my house next time.” She pauses with her hand on her belly and takes a breath. “I’m so stuffed. I probably shouldn’t have eaten that second strawberry shortcake you brought, Baylor.”
He leans forward. Glancing at me, and then at her, he says, “Couldn’t let them go to waste.”
“They’re too delicious for that. It was so good, Laur.”
“Thanks.”
