“John Paul Benson—”
With a groan and a roll of his eyes, JP righted his chair. “Seriously, I pity your future children. Make sure to send them my way often so I can keep them from being boring little robots.” He threw his hands up while making a sound of disgust. “Mickie is coming, all right? Chill out.”
His stomach freaking flipped, and his grip on the wheel grew punishing.
Nope. That wasn’t a surge of excitement or lust. He wouldn’t allow either. Must have just hit a dip in the road or something.
“Cat got your tongue?”
“Huh?” He glanced at JP, whose smug grin had his hackles rising.
“You gonna say anything?”
“’Bout what? Michaela? Glad you guys invited her. She seems like she needs to get out more. Am I supposed to say something else?” Well, he was a shitty actor.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” JP shut his eyes again. “Wake me when we get there, you freakin’ android.”
Twenty minutes of listening to JP snore later, Keith parked his car on the popular orchard's grassy lot. Families with their kids and even some dogs milled around everywhere he looked.
It only took two seconds for him to zero in on Mickie. The second his gaze landed on her, his gut tightened. She was laughing with Ronnie and the joy on her face had his gut clenching. Damn, she was so beautiful, even more so when she relaxed.
He’d be lying if he didn’t admit he got a thrill knowing she enjoyed his family so much.
“We’re here. Wake up,” he said as he whacked JP on the chest with more force than necessary.
JP gasped and shot to a sitting position, wide-eyed. “What the fuck man? I’m too young to die of a heart attack. Do you know how many women I still have to screw?”
Laughing, Keith rolled his eyes, which was his most common expression when hanging out with JP. The guy was ridiculous on a good day and certifiable on a bad. “There they are, over by the little store thing.”
“Sweet.” JP opened his door. “Pretty much planning to eat my weight in cider donuts.” He was out of the car like a shot and joining the others.
Keith, on the other hand, took his time strolling over to his siblings and Mickie. When JP reached them first, he drew Mickie into a long, tight hug while winking at Keith over her shoulder.
Keith bristled. His fucking brothers were having way too much fun at his expense these days. Rolling his shoulders, he tried to relax and make it seem like the fact JP still had his arms around Mickie wasn’t getting to him. When JP kissed her cheek then slung his arm around her shoulders, making himself comfortable, Keith decided all bets were off. He’d be shoving JP out of an apple tree for sure.
At some point, JP must have recognized he was playing with fire and came to his senses. He released Mickie as Keith reached their little group. Maybe it was the less-than-subtle way Jagger cleared his throat as though he had an entire steak lodged in it. Luckily, Mickie seemed oblivious to their exchange.
What she did seem, though, was nervous. Her back stiffened, and she lifted a hand in greeting. “Hey.”
She looked striking in a cream-colored turtleneck with a denim jacket and tight black leggings. Some kind of boot with fur around her calf topped off the classy fall outfit.
“Hey.” Since JP hugged her, it’d be weird if he didn’t, right? Strictly from a social norms standpoint. Not because he was anxious to feel the press of her body against his again, even with multiple layers of clothing and jackets between them.
Not at all.
She returned the hug with wooden limbs and a quick pat to his back before stepping back as though he’d seared her skin through her clothes.
Awkward much?
He had no one to blame but himself for not contacting her the last two days.
As Mickie pulled back, he held her arm above the elbow and examined her cheek. The mark his father had left seemed to have faded and couldn’t be seen beneath her makeup. Still, knowing it had been there made his shoulders stiffen.
“It’s fine,” Mickie whispered. “Not even sore anymore.”
As if that was supposed to make it okay.
Ronnie’s gaze shifted between the two of them as though they were nuts. “What the hell is up with you two?” Leave it to her to be more blunt than necessary. Keith had told her about the garage incident, but not the fact that they’d had any intimate connection because of it.
Mickie, who was a million times better at disguising her genuine emotions than he was, sent a dazzling smile Ronnie’s way. “Nothing’s up. I’m just excited to be here. Did you hear the guy say they have a corn maze?” Her eyes sparkled as though she said they had a field of diamonds for her to run through.