“That fight I told you about? That was me clocking the lying little shit and making sure things never got that far.”
“Damn, son. So that’s what all that cockblock rambling was about last night. I knew Miller was a bit of homebody but… You’ve got your hands full, don’t you?”
“Yep.” I tilt my head in his direction. “So do you, by the way.”
“You mean Austen?” Royal rubs his hands down his thick thighs and nods soberly. “I’m aware. I think the Waynes might be the biggest hurdle. I’m used to big families, but Matilda has always let us do our own thing—unless it infringed on someone else’s rights or hurt the environment, you know? Hers…”
I pat his back supportively. “Well, I think they’ll love you, but you shouldn’t be wasting JD on me, man. He’s right there in the belly of the beast. Austen has a brother and a sister who married into that Finn family right? Tell JD to put in a good word for you.”
Royal snorts. “You think I’m giving him that kind of ammunition after all the grief I’ve given him over the years?”
“You haven’t told him about Austen? What does he think you’re doing in town?”
“Saving you from yourself.” Royal smirks when I try to push him off the steps. The man is as immovable as a mountain. “What? It isn’t a lie. Especially now that I know how you’ll be spending your surprise time off. You ready to tell me about that yet?”
“No.”
“Fine. I’ll find out eventually. Until then, think of me as that cricket on your shoulder.”
“Big damn cricket,” I mutter, making him laugh.
“Yes I am. And connected via text to an entire colony of gay or gay-adjacent crickets who can guide you through the perils of loving a socially awkward man-virgin with impressive carpentry skills and nosy neighbors.”
As if on cue, an old Madonna song starts to blast out of Diane and Heather’s open windows, making me think someone heard at least part of our conversation.
Like a Virgin.
“Jesus.” I laugh and rub my hand over my face. “Why am I doing this to myself? Why are you? Remember when we had no one to answer to? When our biggest and only concern was what exciting destination we would fly to next?”
Royal’s dark eyes sparkle as he stands and tugs me to my feet, slapping my hammer back into my hand. “Everybody needs a direction, Kinkaid. And a solid place to land. Now let’s get some of this work done so we can impress your future husband. From what I can tell, Day takes this shit seriously.”
***
“Rub it, Miller. Please. Oh God. Deeper.”
“If I go any deeper I’ll— Yeah, that’s a big one.”
I wish this was as hot as it sounded. But despite the pain radiating from my neck to the middle of my back, I’m still turned on enough to be poking a hole in his mattress with my erection.
As long as I don’t roll over, we should be good.
Fuck, I really want to roll over.
I don’t think this was what Royal had in mind when he thought we could impress Miller with my handy skills. I’m not a moron. I have mastered the tech manuals of every bird I’ve ever flown and can do some pretty fancy math in my head. I understand the ins and outs of finance, thanks to the lectures that passed for dinner conversation in my childhood home. And I’ve been told I’m gifted with my tongue.
But I am unquestionably subpar when it comes to the fine art of backyard deck building.
Wasn’t I the one who helped start the first three projects on this house?
Yes, you were, man with fragile ego. And you steamed off that ugly wallpaper like an Alpha dog champ. Feel better now?
“Oh God, right there,” I moan when Miller digs into one particularly stubborn knot with his fingers of steel. Who has fingers that strong?
The massage therapist you want to nail.
Miller shifts closer. I feel his hips against mine as he hovers over my back to apply more pressure. “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have left you two alone to go to the vet. I mean, it’s a good thing I did, since Dix needed new heartworm medication, but I shouldn’t have let you work on the deck while you were still hung over.”
When a man talks about heartworms and you still want to fuck him? That’s got to be love.
“I was fine.”
Miller scoffed. “Obviously. Your neck’s been hurting since you woke up, hasn’t it? And you let Royal egg you on. He doesn’t know his own strength.”
Oh, Royal knows his own strength. He just doesn’t realize that I’m only human, with a fragile back that’s many, many years older than his.
Not that many.
“I had to do it,” I grunt. “He was making me look bad, carrying all those planks over his shoulder.”