Page 45 of Sycamore Circle

On the other hand, Joy was as far from being a good-time girl as a woman could get. She could also take care of herself just fine. She didn’t really seem to appreciate it when he acted like she could use his help or advice.

He had to figure out how to be the man he was without scaring her or driving her away.

“Too bad you didn’t think about that earlier, Sam,” he muttered to himself. “If you hadn’t gotten all in her grill, she might not have been so freaked out.”

After she’d shown him the text, it had been more than obvious that Joy was uncomfortable with not only showing it to him but also his anger about it. He reminded himself that he was trying to develop a relationship with her. The last thing he’d wanted to do was bring her another source of discomfort.

But he’d still had the urge to ask her a hundred questions and spend the rest of the day trying to figure out which one of her clients was giving her grief—it had to be one of her clients. Right?

He was relieved to see both Jennifer’s and Lincoln’s vehicles in their driveway when he arrived at their house. He parked behind Jennifer’s Toyota, checked his phone, and then got out.

Lincoln opened the door before Bo had time to knock. “I saw you pull up,” he said. “What’s going on?”

“I need some advice.”

Lincoln frowned. “Don’t we have a meeting at the house later?”

“Yeah, but this is personal. That okay? I wanted to get Jennifer’s perspective too. Is she available?”

“She should be. She’s putting Hunt down for his morning nap. Have a seat.”

Bo sat down, listening to Lincoln’s deep voice softly speak to his wife. Sometimes when he heard or saw his boss talk to her it caught him by surprise. The John Lincoln Bennett he’d known before Jennifer hadn’t taken much flak from anyone and had been unafraid to make sure everyone knew it.

He wondered if it was love that had changed Lincoln or merely the passage of time. Bo had always been more mellow than Lincoln, but he’d never had the aura around him that his friend seemed to have now. Lincoln was content. Bo was starting to wonder if he was content—or maybe he wasn’t capable of it. He didn’t know.

“Hi, Bo,” Jennifer called out as she came downstairs. “I heard you missed talking to me.”

He loved seeing her confident smile. She was so different than the woman he’d first met several years before.

He stood up to greet her. “Are you trying to get me in trouble, girly?” he teased.

She reached out and gave him a hug. “Not necessarily. But I’ve missed you too. If I had known you were coming, I would’ve made you some cinnamon rolls.”

He smiled. She’d served him and Mason a warm plate of rolls the first time he’d shoveled her driveway. “I would’ve enjoyed that, but well, I came over here for some advice.”

She sat down. “I’m happy to give you free advice too.” Looking at the coffee table, she frowned. “Did John not offer you anything to drink? Do you want some coffee or a glass of water?”

“A glass of water sounds good. But I’ll get it.”

“You sit. John’s on his way down. He’ll want a glass too.”

Yet again, he seated himself, waiting while Lincoln crooned—or whatever he was doing—over his progeny upstairs and Jennifer got him a drink.

He wondered how his life with Joy would be if they ever became a couple. Would she be the type to fuss like this over company? He didn’t know if he cared if she was or not—it was just another thing he realized he didn’t know about Joy.

“So what’s going on?” Lincoln asked after Jennifer brought over some glasses of water and the three of them were sitting together.

“I met a woman.”

Jennifer smiled tentatively. “Oh?”

Lincoln laughed. “She’s being kind, Bo. What she’s really wanting to know is if this woman is any better than Tami.” He cocked an eyebrow. “Is she?”

“Yes.” He didn’t hold back from rolling his eyes. He and Tami had had more of a “friends with benefits” thing for a very short time. He’d never intended Jennifer and her to ever meet. “I didn’t date her long.”

“I didn’t know if you dated her at all,” Lincoln laughed. “I thought she was your late-night hookup.”

“Tami and me were in complete agreement about our... uh, plans.” He cleared his throat. “However, to answer your question, Jennifer, yes. Joy is very different.”

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