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“Catch you guys later. Let me know when you want to go home,” I say on purpose to piss Gillian off, then I go to the guys’ table with my beer. I sit beside Danson, and my brothers eye me while they’re talking to Jensen and Brooks.
“You’re late,” Danson says to me.
Bennett and I are the same age, so we’ve always been close. “Surprised to see you out.”
“Grandma and Grandpa for the win,” he says and shrugs. “It’s been a long time since Wren has spent the night with them, and she’s in this stage of wanting to be around women.”
“I see that playing out with Briar.” I take a pull from my beer.
“Yeah, you’re not the only one who loves her. Wren talks about her nonstop.” He picks at the label of his beer.
“Love? You’re delusional.” I sip my beer, my gaze straying over to Briar.
She’s listening to Scarlett animatedly talk with her hands. I watch her sip her margarita, and she smiles, looking at it and twirling the straw before taking another sip. She searches me out, and I raise my beer in the air when we make eye contact. The look of appreciation on her face says it all, and if it doesn’t prick at my heart a little… fuck.
“Am I really delusional?” My attention turns back to Danson, and he laughs. “Shit, man, you’re invested.”
I could tell Danson about Briar being pregnant, and he wouldn’t tell anyone. He keeps secrets the best out of all my cousins, but it would feel like a betrayal to Briar, so I keep it to myself.
“I think she masturbated to me earlier,” I say quietly, still trying to wrap my head around it. I swear, when I knocked, I heard her moan and say my name.
“Are you eavesdropping on the poor woman?”
We both stare toward the dance floor. The live country band is pretty good.
“No, I just heard it when I went to tell her I was ready to go.”
“How do you know it wasn’t me she was thinking of?” He laughs and takes another pull of his beer, eyeing me over the bottle.
“She said God, and that obviously implies me.” I shake my head. “She said my name, but the turnaround is odd since she used to hate me.” Then I realize I should ask Danson about her in high school. “Hey, do you remember her from high school?”
“Yeah. She’s Gillian’s sister, and I remember when Gillian brought her to family stuff, even after Ben left for Clemson.”
I scour my memory. “I don’t.”
“Because you were probably in the barn with whoever was willing.”
He’s right. In high school, I was a little bit of a man-whore, if I’m honest. I never had a girlfriend and swore against them after I saw what happened to Ben and Gillian when he left for college. Girls liked me, and I took full advantage of it. So during parties at the ranch, I’d always take girls to the barn and make out.
“What do you remember about her?” I ask.
His gaze travels to Briar. “She didn’t look how she does now; she’s done a one-eighty. I remember her having glasses and braces, and she’d never talk to anyone.” He tips his beer in her direction. “She didn’t have the confidence she has now. But isn’t that the majority of people in high school, with the exception of you?” He twirls the bottle in his hands.
I scour the area for any ears. The other four are at the bar getting refills for everyone now, so I lean in close to Danson. “I have this feeling…”
He laughs but tries to sober up when he sees my face, failing miserably. “Feeling?”
“Yeah, it’s weird. I like her living with me. I like having her at my house. I like coming home to her.”
His laugh grows louder, garnering the attention of the girls’ table.
“Stop laughing. I don’t know what to do, and since I heard her coming to imaginings of me?—”
“Allegedly,” he clarifies.
“I assure you she wasn’t thinking of your limp dick.” I scowl at him.
“Everyone loves a single dad.” He waggles his eyebrows as he sips his beer.
