The Fix (The Carolina Connections, #1)(36)
“Hey, Kia, do you by any chance have an off button, or maybe just a pause button. My head is about to explode.”
I was completely mortified. Kia’s jaw hit the table in indignant shock. Erin covered her mouth with a napkin that hid what I thought might have been a smile. Riordan stole another roll. Nate and Bailey shared a look across the table and then simultaneously burst out into gales of laughter.
Assholes!! What was going on here?
“You.” I pointed at Nate. “Hallway.” I stood, and to the rest of the table I simply said, “If you could excuse us for a moment, we’ll be right back.” I could see Erin smacking Bailey on the arm and Kia standing up in a huff to gather her purse. Gavin sat back with a smirk, too damn cocky to consider he could have just blown his professional reputation. Ugh!
Riordan and Rocco went back to business. “Stop me if you’ve heard this one. A guy with a peg leg walks into a bar—”
“What’s a peg leg?”
In the hall, Nate was ready for me and was already defending himself before I could draw in a breath. “Look, you have to understand Bailey. We live to torture each other and when I told her she had to invite someone to dinner to make you feel more comfortable she decided to choose the most annoying person on her contact list. I should have seen it coming but I was so nervous about not freaking you out and about getting this evening to go well, I completely missed the opening I’d given her. It’s my fault, but I promise everyone in there, with the exception of Kita or Kia or whoever, thought that whole scene was fucking hilarious.”
What was I going to do with him? Having no answer I decided to settle for punching him in the arm. He laughed and pulled me into a hug.
After many thank-yous and another round of hugs goodbye we all headed to the front door. Riordan opted to stay in the kitchen to wash dishes, but he fist-bumped Rocco goodbye and gave us all a wave.
“What is all of this?” Erin said as we approached the front door and she saw a couple boxes and a tall cylindrical case leaning against the wall.
I bit my lip. “I didn’t want to be presumptuous, but I had all this fishing equipment from my parents’ house that I was planning on using with Rocco. We haven’t had the time and it’s just been gathering dust so I thought maybe Riordan might be interested in trying his hand at it. There are some great ponds and reservoirs around here. It’s probably stupid, but I used to love to fish with my dad and he always said it was one of life’s best pastimes. Like I said, it’s a silly idea but if you’re interested feel free to use it,” I finished, suddenly feeling shy.
Erin wrapped me in another enormous hug and whispered in my ear, “You’re an angel, Laney.” I guess it wasn’t such a silly idea after all.
On the front walkway Bailey stopped me. “Sorry if that whole Kia thing made you uncomfortable. I was so focused on annoying Nate I didn’t really think about making it weird for you. Honestly, that girl has had the biggest lady boner for Nate for so long I’m actually relieved I brought her here tonight. Hopefully she’ll leave me alone about it now that she sees he’s officially taken,” she said.
I had no response. Luckily, she seemed to not need one as she waved and jogged to her car.
Nate walked the rest of us to the Jeep. He opened the passenger door for Rocco and me. Before he closed it, he leaned down toward me. “Text me so I know you got home safe.”
All signs indicated Laney Monroe had just gotten herself a boyfriend.
Eek!
Chapter Thirteen
It’s a Gray Area
NATE
Nate: So what night is best for you this week?
Laney: For what?
Nate: For our second date?
Laney: When did I agree to our first date?
Nate: It was implied. You had dinner with my parents and a psychotic person. I really should count that as two dates.
Laney: Ha.
Nate: Just so you know, Gavin is available to babysit on Wed or Thurs.
Laney: You’re involving my brother in this? That’s extortion—you’re his boss.
Nate: It’s a gray area. How about Wednesday? I’ll cook for you. Don’t worry, I didn’t learn from my mom.
Nate: I’m getting gray hair over here waiting.
Laney: Wednesday. I can be ready at 6:30.
Nate: I’ll pick you up. Later, Laney.
Laney sure knew how to get under my skin. Not to be cocky, but I knew she was into me, so I couldn’t figure out the reluctance on her part. I’d never had to work so hard to get a girl to date me, and there had never been a girl I was so eager to date before. She did things to me I couldn’t explain. I must have replayed our two kisses in my head a hundred times, many of those times occurring in the shower with my hand in full participation, I am not ashamed to say. I also found myself thinking of her at the oddest times—like when I went to the grocery store and saw some chocolate chip cookies, it reminded me of the ones she’d made (and the kiss involved). Or when I picked up some supplies at Home Depot, I bought a flashlight because I’d noticed Laney didn’t seem to have one. This girl was firmly rooted in my head.
Maybe the reluctance on her part was because of Rocco—I suppose that made sense. I’d never dated a single mom before, and it was bound to be more complicated. I confess I don’t know the first thing about kids, but I like them well enough. I’d just never had the chance to spend a lot of time with them. Rocco seemed like a cool little guy—maybe a bit shy and kind of unpredictable but that was okay. It was becoming clear that being a single mom was no picnic, but Laney seemed to be doing a stellar job from my inexperienced viewpoint. Rocco was well-behaved and everybody seemed to love him.