“I’ve got room.” Even over the phone, I can hear him smirking.
“Great, we’ll see you there.” Then I hang up before I surrender to my compulsive need to overexplain everything again.
When I put my phone back into the cupholder in hopes of resuming my ice cream consumption, I find both Knox and Sloan staring at me. “What?”
“You knowwhat,” Knox teases. “You and I are going to have another little talk later. We’re going to establish some things.” He turns the key in the ignition.
“Oh,” Sloan says, mouth clearly full of ice cream. “Have you not had the boyfriend girlfriend talk yet?”
“Sloan!”
“What? I learn this stuff watching your tv shows with you. You can’t be mad at me,” she reasons.
“Eat your ice cream,” I huff, desperately wishing I could make this whole conversation just rewind and delete.
“You gonna order me to stuff something in my face if I keep talking too?” he muses, starting to back out of the parking spot. I notice he never finished his ice cream; it’s just sitting here in the center console with the lid back on it.
“I could drive, you know. If you wanted to keep stuffing your face.” Not that I’m suggesting I want him to shut up. But I wouldn’t mind a change in topic either. “Plus, I know where the marina is, and you don’t.”
“I’m good on ice cream,” he assures me. “Just point me where I need to go.”
“I can do that.” I smile. Because for some reason, I have to do that every time I look at the man now.
We’re not far from the marina so I’m not surprised to see we’re pulling in right behind my brother when we arrive.
“That was fast,” Devin observes, getting out of his SUV to greet us. He keeps his boat here year-round unless he’s going to a fishing competition somewhere.
“We were just up the road,” I explain, the first to get out and meet him. I damn near jumped out while the truck was still moving to make it happen too.
“We needed ice cream,” Sloan explains, getting out after me, still eating from her pint, chocolate fudge on the tip of her nose she seems as of yet unaware of.
“Indeed, we did.” Knox walks around the back of the truck to join us, hand stretched out toward my brother. “Knox, nice to meet you.”
“Devin. And it’s kind of surprising to meet you.” My brother grins.
Knox looks like he’s not sure how to respond. I think he’s under the impression my brother has recognized him.
“It’s surprising because I never show up with anyone other than Sloan,” I fill him in on the real reason before he can attempt to guess.
My brother tips his head slightly toward his shoulder. “Or Arizona.”
“True. Though less now that she lives out of state again.” Speaking of, I just felt my phone vibrate. Given how long it took me to respond to her last text, I’m sure she’s written back with all sorts of inappropriate scenarios she thinks may have been keeping me too occupied to check my phone. Which I’m not going to do now either.
“Where are Krissy and Owen?” Sloan asks, checking her uncle’s backseat for her cousins and apparently coming up empty.
“They rode with Aunt Sila to go pick up Jess and Brianna,” he tells her. “Should be here any minute.” Then he hooks his arm around her and adds, “I just bought two new rods. Wanna pick one to use later?”
She nods, mouth too full and sticky to answer, but her eyes display her enthusiasm plenty.
Knox and I watch as they walk around to the other side of the SUV before I whisper, “My brother only listens to country. I’mnot sure he’s ever even heard of you, and he definitely doesn’t know what you look like.”
A pleased expression moves onto his handsome face. “That works.”
“As for Jess and Brianna.” I make a face. Sila and I get along well enough, but her friends are just a wee bit over the top for my little introverted ass. “They may take one glance at you and whip out their boobs for you to sign.”
He laughs.
I don’t. “I’m being totally serious.”
