Page 63 of Revved up & Ready

Cam—who still hasn’t stopped bringing me coffee during my morning meetings every day—sets down a tray filled with cookies and drinks on a low table.

“You ladies need anything other than this before we disappear to the workshop for a while?” Rhett asks, pointing toward the tray.

“Looks like we’ll be pretty well covered for a while,” Devon answers.

“Later, sunshine,” Cam says, tucking his hands into his pockets as he follows Luke and Rhett.

“I think I really like him,” I sigh, once they’ve disappeared around the house.

Bea chuckles. “That’s probably for the best, since you two are together.”

Something true. Say something true.“Just feels extra poignant today, I guess.”

“I was skeptical at first,” Devon comments, sipping one of the rum and peach cocktails from the tray.

“Oh, youwere?” Allie presses both hands to her collarbones in mock shock.

Devon arches a brow. “Obviously. He’s theRace Nakedguy.”

“He’s more than that,” I jump to defend him.

Devon dips her chin in a single nod. “Clearly, I see that now.”

“Even if he was just theRace Nakedguy,” Bea says, sipping an orange-hued drink from the tray. “I think that’s good for you. You needed someone wild.”

Someone wild? Is that what I need?I’ve wanted to share with my friends what’s happening with Cam, but we’re in so deep already.How would they respond if they found out I’ve been lying to them about him for months?

“What makes you say that?” I ask, relieved to at least ask for advice.

Bea slides her glasses up to balance on her head, looking me in the eye when she answers. “You’ve had such an incredible amount of change in your life lately, and I know that doesn’t settle easily in your spirit. You like when things are steady. I think a wild man—specifically that gorgeous one with the red hair and all the tattoos—helps you realize you can still be okay when things aren’t steady. He’s comfortable with change and chaos, so he can help you through.”

This is why I have to talk to my friends.“I don’t think I ever would have put that together myself, but you might be on to something,” I say.His wildness is good for me, but it’s also the thing that’s keeping me from actually falling for him. How do I bring that up?

Turns out I don’t have to, because Devon does. “I am still not convinced that dating a motorcycle racer is the best thing for you.”

I jump to answer before Allie can interject, like I know she wants to. “That part is hard for me still,” I say, wading through my thoughts until I find the right words. “It’s really, really scary to think how easily I could lose him.”

Devon’s tone softens. “Have you talked to him about any of that yet?”

“A bit,” I nod. “It’s hard because I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it all.”

“It’s still new,” Bea says. “You don’t have to have it all figured out yet.”

She’s someone who seems much more comfortable with change and chaos than I am, but I try to commit her words to memory.I don’t have to have it all figured out yet.

Allie lifts a cookie in the air, turning it one way and then the other. “I’m not complaining, but can I ask why we’re eating gingerbread in April?”

“They’re Cam’s favorite,” I say, scooping a little gingerbread dude off the tray for myself. “Also, I think I might get a tattoo of one soon.”

That admission sparks a conversation about the tattoo appointment Cam booked for us next month. It’s been a couple of weeks since we had our late-night tattoo conversation and make-out. Neither of us has said a word about the kissing, but we did agree the next day to book a tattoo appointment. I don’t confess that he’s also considering a gingerbread tattoo because I know exactly what the advice about getting a tattoo with myboyfriendof two months would be. It’s one secret I don’t mind keeping.

Having a moment of openness with them eases some of the anxiety I’ve felt these past couple of months, and it makes me want to share something else with them. I glance around the yard. Spaghetti and Dandy are on their way back to us now, but the guys haven’t returned.

“Do you want to know a secret?” I ask.

Wrangling Spaghetti to lie down next to Betty in the shade, Allie says, “More thananything,” like she’s been waiting all day for something juicy.

“And you cannot tell anyone, especially not your boyfriend,” I insist.

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