Cammy is probably the only woman who could ever take his attention away from work, and I’m guessing that’s the problem. The issue with that is that she’s pretty, educated, and too smart to wait for him to realize there’s more to life than making money. Case in point—her man getting ready to put a ring on her finger.
“When is Cybil heading home?” Mav asks, and even knowing the question is meant to change the subject, my jaw clenches on the word home, and my chest feels funny at the mention of her leaving. Two things that don’t bode well for me when the time does come for her to go back to Oregon.
“We haven’t talked about it.”
“We have a new set of clients coming in next week.” Blake takes a seat on one of the folding lawn chairs stacked against the wall. “Mav is scheduled to take them out, so I’ll need you to help me with the runs and office shit.”
“Do you think I somehow forgot how shit has gone for the last two years and suddenly need you to remind me of what my job is?”
“You’ve been distracted, so maybe.”
“Christ, Mason’s right. You are in a shit mood. But you know me, brother, and you know I’m not the one. You wanna act like a dick, then you can take that shit somewhere else. That or you can grow a pair and actually deal with whatever it is that’s got you fucked up,” I say, and his teeth grind.
He opens his mouth like he’s going to say something, but then he shuts it, and I know why a second later when the door behind me opens and the girls come out.
“I really hope you four were able to start the grill, because I’m starving,” Margret says, then stops and looks around. “What happened, and why do you two look ready to kill each other?” She motions between Blake and me.
“Guy stuff,” Mason says as he takes the tray Cammy’s carrying and places it next to the barbecue.
“Well, cheer up,” she orders, “because I can’t drink myself into a state of ‘I don’t give a fuck,’ and I really have no desire to spend the night watching you two glare at each other.” Mason laughs while Cybil drops a plate with steaks on it next to the grill before she comes over and tucks herself under my arm.
“We’re all good,” Blake tells her, getting up from the chair he was in and motioning for her to sit. “And you really do need to stop cursing so much all the time.”
“Don’t even start on that again.” Margret rolls her eyes at him as she falls into his seat, rubbing her belly. “I don’t curse that much, and the little miss can’t make out anything I say right now.”
“You curse more than your brother,” Mav tells her, and she flips him the bird. He grins at her, shaking his head.
“The problem is I shouldn’t have let you hang with me and my friends all the time when we were kids,” Blake mutters while unfolding a few more chairs.
“They weren’t your friends; they were mine.” She smirks at him. “Or at least they all liked me more than they liked you.”
“Smart-ass.” He smiles for the first time since he got here, which makes me relax slightly.
“Someone’s phone is ringing,” Cammy says, and Cybil looks up at me.
“I think that’s me. I’ll be right back.”
Once she’s inside, I take a seat in one of the chairs and raise a brow at Margret when I find her watching me. “What?”
“I love her, like . . . love her, love her. You’d better not mess this up.”
“I wasn’t planning on it,” I say as the door behind me opens, and I turn to watch Cybil come out. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, it was the girl who runs my website. She just wanted to give me a heads-up about a glitch on my site that might mean I receive some weird emails until she gets it sorted.”
“Got it.” I drag her down to sit on my lap, and instead of trying to move, she gets comfortable. As the mood lightens and everyone including her falls into the ease there’s always been with our group, I hold her a little tighter, wondering how the fuck I’m going to be able to let her go and starting to doubt I’ll be able to at all.
Chapter 18
CYBIL
I stand under Tanner’s arm and wave as Mav, Blake, Cammy, Margret, and Mason head off down the lane. It was a great night, even with the ever-present undercurrent of tension that seemed to fill the air. As Tanner leads me back into the house and shuts the door, I open my mouth to tell him that I like his friends but end up squeaking when he turns me to face him and presses me against the wall in the entryway.