Page 39 of Bad & Bossy

Lottie beamed at me as she slid her fingers across the cutting board and stole a baby carrot. “I’d love that.”

She and Dana disappeared around the corner when the doorbell rang a few moments later, likely fawning over their son. As much as I was anxious to meet him, I kept myself calm, hanging back with Hunter while he cooked something on the stove that smelled incredible. “I haven’t told Lottie about rehab yet,” I said quietly, hoping he’d be able to hear me. “Please don’t bring it up.”

He shook his head, jokingly pointing his knife at me. “Do you honestly think I’d just casually ask you about that in front of her? It’s not my place to do so.”

“I just didn’t want you to think I’d already told her and mention it.”

“I won’t, man,” he said, his lips forming a straight line as he leaned back against the counter, his eyes half on the food and half on me. “You know, we’re thinking of forming a new section of the company.”

I snorted. “Does the Harris Agricultural Empire really need another venture?”

“I didn’t choose the name, okay?” he laughed. “It’s still agriculture, to be fair. We’ve got so much farmland and so many contracted farmers, I figured, hey—why not branch into fresh produce? We could sell to local businesses, give them better, organic options for their restaurants and such.”

Fresh produce. That wasn’t a bad idea at all. “We’d happily add you to the suppliers list at the brewery,” I grinned. “And our new lineup is infusion-based. We could work together on something, maybe even a zero percent.”

Hunter’s head tipped back and forth as if he were thinking about it, his lower lip between his teeth, before he broke out into a full-on smile. “Hell yeah. We could definitely make that work.”

A tiny giggle chirped out behind me. I swiveled on my seat, locking eyes with a chubby little eight-month-old boy with piercing hazel eyes and a massive grin.

God, he looked just like Lottie.

“Cole, this is Brody,” Lottie beamed, holding the little guy outstretched to me as if she were the monkey in The Lion King.

I stared at him in awe. It had been a long time, years on years, since I’d interacted with a child his age. They were the cutest before they could talk. And their heads smelled like heaven.

“You can take him,” she laughed, her arms just barely beginning to shake from holding the weight of him.

Hesitantly, I reached out and wrapped my arms around his little torso, lifting his weight easily. He babbled incoherently, his eyes stuck on mine like glue, his smile far too wide to be anything other than cute. “Hi,” I said, setting him down on my lap and bobbing my leg up and down. He giggled, his little hand wrapping around one of my fingers.

“He likes you,” Hunter said from behind me.

“You’re a natural,” Lottie chuckled. “He didn’t even like Dana the first time they met and she’s?—”

Dana’s elbow landed square in Lottie’s gut. “Oh, sorry,” Dana gushed, but from where I was sitting, it looked intentional.

Odd.

I don’t know how long I held him. It felt like hours, but it didn’t get old. He seemed happy enough in my arms, content to play with his stuffed animal, my fingers, or a set of teething rings. All I needed to do was ensure he didn’t fall from my lap and that he was sufficiently entertained.

Lottie set the table for the four of us, her eyes trained on me and Brody as she went. Occasionally, Dana would pull her to the side, whispering something urgently. As I watched the two of them, I realized I’d never really seen them together outside of Lottie’s wedding and the first time I’d met Dana. Maybe this was just their relationship, whispery and secretive, weird as it was.

“You seem comfortable with Brody,” Lottie grinned as she stepped around me with a handful of plates.

I chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I am. He’s easy.”

“Only when other people are around,” Hunter quipped, his eyes rolling as he carried a pot of steaming something to the table.

“You’d make a good dad, Cole,” Lottie added. “Have you ever thought of having kids?”

Dana’s head swiveled to Lottie faster than my eyes could keep up. “Lottie.”

“It’s fine,” I chuckled, waving my hand as Brody started to coo in my lap. “I’ve thought about it a bit, yeah. Maybe down the line.”

————

A glass of wine in each of our hands and a lightly snoring baby in a bassinet made for a fairly calm, post-meal hangout. Lottie idly rocked the bassinet with her foot as she babbled on about horse breeds, but all I could do was watch Dana.

The way her face lit up whenever Lottie spoke was sweet. Their friendship was odd, but in fairness, I found most female friendships to be somewhat alike in that sense. Girls had a way of connecting deeper than most men did, I suppose. But when her lips parted, her smile like something out of a fairytale, I felt something in my chest go soft.

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