Page 40 of Best Laid Plans

"Trev tells me you're helping to keep Katya sane while Mama drives her mad with wedding planning."

"Your mama is one determined lady," I remarked.

He put his arm around me as he spoke. "No kiddin'. And Trev tells me you're dating that douchebag, Michael Ross. Didn't we talk about how you need to run your dates by me to vet?"

"Mike Ross is not a douchebag," Stella chimed. "Mike's a good guy."

"You have no idea what Mike's into." Beau raised an eyebrow and winked at me. "You know what I'm talkin' about?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not dating him. I've been out with him once for a coffee. And I have no idea what he's into."

"He has a membership at a sex club," Dom filled in.

"We have a sex club in Savannah? Hell, that doesn't make him a douchebag," I said as saucily as I could, "it makes him interestin'."

Beau laughed out loud. "You're a treasure, Nova, an absolute treasure. So, what are you drinkin', doll."

"Nothing." I pulled away from Beau. "I need to get some shut-eye. Tomorrow is going to be another long day."

"But thank God it's Friday." Aurora raised her glass, and everyone cheered.

I left some cash under my glass to pay for my drinks. "Fuck no." Beau grabbed the dollars, and pressed them into my hand. "You don't pay when I'm around."

"Beau," I protested.

"Or when I'm around," Dom added.

"Or me." Gabe raised his hand.

"You're fine to pay when it's just me." Noah winked at me. And when Stella elbowed him, he fake grunted. "But my wife may hurt me, so…I'm afraid we can't accept your money."

"Especially since we're here to celebrate you," Luna pointed out.

"Fine." I gave up.

"But if you want to make a peach cobbler and bring it over to Trev's, I wouldn't have a problem with it." Beau kissed my cheek.

"I have first dibs on Nova's baked goods," Luna declared. "And if I die, rights go to Stella."

"What happens when Stella dies?" Noah mused. "Do I get peach cobbler rights? I'm her husband."

"Nova's peach cobbler is to die for," Beau informed the group.

"Or kill for." Noah pulled his wife close to him, and she wrapped herself around him. They'd come a long way in a short time, and I was happy for them.

"Thank you, Beau." I tucked my phone into a pocket in my dress. "See, y'all."

"Do you have a ride home?" Anson asked, walking with me, making it clear to all my friends that we were not colleagues who just met. Within a minute of my leaving, I knew that Beau, Noah, and Gabe would have the lowdown about Anson and my past.

Savannah, sometimes, was as small a town as Sentinel.

"I'm five minutes from here," I told him.

"Where's your car parked?" he asked.

"A five-minute walk," I explained.

"Then, I'll walk you home."

---