Page 74 of Burn Point

Mary Catherine’s gaze was shrewd as she eyed the three of us and I couldn’t help but wonder how Bunny and she were friends. But as I watched, Bunny’s gaze skated over Kylie dismissively and I realized, maybe Bunny wasn’t being authentic after all. I’d tuned out the conversation as I studied them, when Mary Catherine’s cool gaze drifted over me, and returned to Leah. She’d just totally dissed me. A little flair of bitchiness rose within me, and I wanted to call her out.

Looking down her nose at Leah, Mary Catherine said, “Tell Mike I’ll call him later.” Then the two sashayed out.

I was dumbfounded. “Did she…Did that sound like she was warning you?”

Kylie rolled her eyes, waving them off. “She’s got it in her head that she’s all that, and she uses the calendar as a connection to hit on our guys.” For half-a-second I wondered if Thoren was Kylie’s.

“It doesn’t matter,” Leah said. “Mike always makes sure he’s on speaker and that she knows I’m listening.”

“So, tell me how you landed the hunky Nate,” Kylie said.

“I didn’t do anything special. Nate is first my friend, and second hopefully something more.”

“So, is this a friends-with-benefits deal then?”

“No, we haven’t really defined what this is exactly.” That we hadn’t discussed it made me pause. My feelings for him were starting to run deep. Never had I felt so close to someone in such a short period of time.

Kylie and Leah watched me expectantly. Lifting my shoulder, I gave them a small smile. “I just know he is my favorite person. I was scared to move things forward because my greatest fear is losing his friendship. But now that we have, I’m a little...” I shrugged again, unable to define my emotions.

Leah smiled gently at me. “I get that. But don’t miss out on a beautiful connection because you are afraid. Nate is a good man. He’ll let you know if he’s not on the same page.”

“It’s not just that,” I said to my cup, afraid to meet their eyes. I gathered my courage and spoke to Leah. “Mike has a scary job like Nate. How do you deal with it?”

Leah tilted her head. “How do you mean?”

“Like, I keep remembering that fight at the concert, and them just jumping right in the middle of it. That didn’t scare you?”

“Not really.” Leah gazed off into the distance, then back at me. “I guess I trust that Mike knows what he’s doing and won’t put himself in a situation he can’t handle. I won’t lie, it does make it easier that he’s transitioning to the Fire Marshall position though.”

“Plus, Mike is a badass,” Kylie added. Kylie had a point, but I reflected on Leah’s words. She trusted him. Was that what I was missing? Was it a simple matter of me not trusting Nate? He’d proven himself capable, so many times. But still, I couldn’t seem to let go of how risky the whole thing was. Would I ever be comfortable with this aspect of his life?

Conversation turned to the Fourth of July party Nate was throwing, and they tossed out ideas for some fun games to play. Kylie suggested a drinking game called Sharts, exclaiming, “You put one of those mini liquor bottles in a Dixie cup with instructions and secure a napkin over it with a rubber band. Then you throw darts at the cups, you read the instructions and either take your shot or pass it. It’ll be fun.”

Leah and I laughed at the suggestions she was dreaming up. Kylie’s wild-at-heart attitude was dampened only when she asked me if Thoren and Bunny would be there.

“I’m sure they will be. Why?”

Heaving a huge breath, she said, “I guess I’ll have to play nice with her there.”

“And you wouldn’t if she weren’t?” Leah asked.

“Ugh, I don’t know. She’s nice enough, I guess. There’s just something about the two of them, together, that gets on my last nerve. And he’s too great of a guy to be treated like shit or taken advantage of.”

So, I wasn’t alone in my misgivings about Bunny.

Leah pointed a finger at her friend. “Be nice. Jordan is nervous enough without you making a scene.”

I lifted my brows. “I’m fine. I’m not nervous.” I shifted my gaze to Kylie. It seemed like maybe Kylie liked Thoren a little more than she let on. Or maybe I was just happy with my guy and wanted that for her too. “Go for it, girl. Do your thing.”

Eventually, conversation shifted to their yoga studio, and then shopping. I sat back and enjoyed spending time with my friends.

The brief twinge of doubt from earlier remained, but I shrugged it off. I needed to trust my gut with Nate. He was a great guy, he wasn’t perfect, but so far, things were going well. All the rest would work itself out.

Plus, I had new friends.

Life was looking up for me. If I could come to terms with the whole risk-taking, dangerous job thing, everything would be perfect.

Chapter 21

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