“Sure.” I threw up my hands in surrender. “Let’s all go to the fun park and miss out on music festival day.”
“It’s just for a few hours,” Joey assured me. “To take my mind off my stage nerves.”
“You got your way, kid, you can stop with the emotional manipulation.” Cat smoothed a hand over his head in affection.
He grinned cheekily up at her.
“I guess we’re going to the fun park.” Vaughn gestured to Joey. “Lead the way.”
“Are you okay about this?” I said to Rex as we followed the group down Main Street.
He wouldn’t look at me. “Spending the afternoon with the guy you slept with? Not high on my list of things I wanted to do today.”
“I’m sorry.”
I was also sorry how awkward this felt. In my heart of hearts I thought of Rex as a friend, and as flattering as it was that he was attracted to me, I just wasn’t there yet. So the whole jealous boyfriend thing did nothing for me but make me feel weird about hanging out with him.
Yet, I understood where he was coming from.
Rex had made himself clear. He liked me. He was pursuing me. Patiently. Having Vaughn around was going to be uncomfortable for him.
“I’ll buy your ticket,” Rex said as we approached the park gates and ticket booths. It was the first word he’d spoken in two minutes and it was said in a conciliatory tone.
“Vaughn bought the tickets!” Cat shouted back to us, and the group started moving through the gates.
“Of course he did.” Rex sighed and shot me an unhappy look.
I grimaced.
We stopped in a circle just past the entrance to the park.
“Okay, kid,” Cat said to her son. “You’re running this show. What do you want to do first?”
Joey turned to Vaughn. “You’ve never been before, so you should choose.”
Vaughn smiled at Joey. A boyish, gorgeous smile that kicked me in the chest. “That’s kind of you, Joey.” Then that cool gray gaze of his flew my way. “And I think since Miss Hartwell seems to know so much about being a big child, we should ask her.”
Jessica and Cooper didn’t even try to hide their laughter. I shot them an evil look before tur
ning it on Vaughn. As we stared at one another, just like always, everything else melted away. “Do you want to go on a ride or play a carnival game?”
“Would playing a carnival game involve beating you at something?”
I snorted, loud and unladylike. “You think you could beat me at one of these carnival games? You who has never been here before and I who grew up here whooping the ass of men much manlier than you?”
“Ooh, fighting words,” Cat said. “Are you going to take that, Tremaine?”
“Yeah, Tremaine.” Cooper grinned at his friend. “Are you going to take that?”
In answer Vaughn crossed his arms over his chest and widened his stance.
I put my hands on my hips. “I’ll take that as a no.”
“So? What will it be?” Dahlia said. “The ring toss or the rifle range?”
Cooper coughed. “Rifle range.” He coughed again. “Rifle range.”
“I can hear you,” I grumbled. “Whose side are you on?”