Page 48 of A Little More

“I was saying that we knew you wouldn’t want Nash buried under a pile of mud at the bottom of the creek bed.” Dewey bit into his chicken.

Nash dismissed his friend. “Feel better?”

Her small smile, laced with the same lust that hadn’t left his body, almost propelled him from his seat to pull her back into his arms.

“Yes.”

His mom moved to stand next to Dewey. “Get your phone out. If they reenact the cover of my favorite romance novel again, I want to be sure I can show Mary Ellen.”

His mom had confirmed it. He could still be embarrassed even at thirty-four. “It’s time to go. We don’t want to be late.”

“Late?” Lexi looked down at her bare feet. “If you tell me where we’re going, I can get changed.”

“You’re dressed perfectly.” He pushed past Dewey, still working on the chicken and watching the interaction like it was a soap opera. “Don’t you have somewhere to go?”

“Nope.” He waved a chicken at Lexi. “Watching you two is the most interesting thing I’ve had to do today.”

They didn’t have any plans except being alone. His mom would hover over them, and Dewey was there for the food and entertainment, apparently. At least Dewey wouldn’t follow him back to his house.

But he wanted to curl up with Lexi and hold her until she left.

After a knock at the front door, Ms. Peggy opened it. Cameron stepped in, wearing his deputy uniform, his eyes landing on Dewey. “Are you eating again? I thought you wanted to check on Nash.”

“Were you two riding together?” Ms. Peggy patted Cameron on the shoulder. “Let me grab you something, too.”

“I’m fine.”

Nash linked his fingers with Lexi. “Cam, I’d like to introduce you to Lexi Caden. Lexi, this is Cameron Dempsey.”

“Nice to meet you,” Cameron said. “If you’re around a while, I’d like to introduce you to my girlfriend.”

Ms. Peggy poked Cameron in the side. “‘Bout time you gave that sweet girl a title. I got tired of hearing you refer to her as yourfriend.”

Lexi’s fingers wiggled in his. He’d promised to keep it low key. They’d have to be in public for that to apply. His best friends and mom didn’t count.

The front door opened. His head dropped back. Great. Gina. He dropped Lexi’s hand and move toward Dewey.

“Hi.” Gina’s eyes landed on Lexi. “Oh. I figured you’d be gone by now.” She checked her watch. “It is Friday afternoon.”

His mom brushed past Cameron and gave Gina a light embrace. “Nice to see you, Gina. Lexi got here a few minutes ago.”

Gina looked between her and Nash and Dewey and Cameron. “I see.”

Lexi inched backward. That’s all Nash needed, for Gina to run her mouth around town. If Lexi got fired, it’d be his fault. He’d pushed Lexi, ignored her warnings, and it could all come undone. It’s not like he could offer her any type of life that would make her happy if she did get fired. Irritation crawled up his spine. It’s not like she’d accept his help, anyway.

He could fix this. “My mom invited Lexi down for the weekend for a poker tournament.”

Everyone in the room looked at Nash like he was crazy. He was. He wouldn’t abandon his chance with Lexi.

“Poker tournament? In Statem?” Gina crossed her arms.

His mom patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t frown like that, honey, it’ll cause wrinkles, and then where will you be?” She moved back into the living room to stand next to Dewey. “Sure. A little family thing.”

“With her?” Her eyebrows almost reached her hairline. “I’m more family than she is.”

Cameron shook his head behind Gina’s back. “I’m waiting in the car. Finish that up, Dewey and c’mon.”

“Now, Gina, where’s Junior tonight? You don’t want to sit around with a bunch of old people playing poker.” Dewey pointed at her with his perfectly cleaned off chicken leg bone. “I’ll tell you what. Let me call Junior myself, tell him he needs to take you out somewhere nice. I’ll even go knock some sense into the boy if you want me to.”

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