Page 34 of Baked

“Hunter and I are together,” Rachel announced to the group, interrupting their conversation. Just in case they missed it, she decided to lift Hunter and her entangled hands too and wave them around for dramatic effect. “Anyone have any thoughts on that? Or are you gonna carry on pretending you haven’t noticed?”

She could feel Hunter’s eyes on her, and she definitely heard his snigger, but her attention didn’t waver from Zach, Libby, Cody, and Cat. All of them had goofy smiles on their faces.

“We’ve noticed.” Amusement danced in Cat’s bright eyes. “Everyone’s just scared that if they say something, you’re the one who’s gonna start pretending nothing’s going on again.”

“Somethingwasn’tgoing on, Cat.Nowit is,” Rachel clarified.

Cat’s reply came in the form of a snort. She would bet a sassy retort was just around the corner too if Libby hadn’t interjected.

“Honey, it’s just ... we all kinda knew something was going on with you guys. I mean, Cat was convinced you guys were hooking up months ago.”

Here we go again. Okay, she might have snuck a few glances over at Hunter over the past few months, but she’d been careful not to stare. Or drool. She definitely hadn’t done anything to justify her friends thinking they were hooking up. Had she?

While she was busy contemplating just how obvious she’d been, Hunter decided to enter the conversation, breaking his grunting streak. “Will all you fuckers just make my woman happy and congratulate us?”

Rachel beamed up at him then. There was something to be said for being with a man like Hunter. He didn’t waste time beating around the bush; he just said it like it was.

Squeezing her hand in response, he dipped down and laid a kiss on her forehead, making her feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

“Welcome to the caveman club, Rach.” Cat lifted her beer bottle in a toast. “We meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays; on this week’s agenda, we havegrunting as a second languageandlatest loincloth trends.”

Rachel joined Libby in her laughter as Cody pulled his wife into his arms. “Very funny, kitten.”

Cody may not be laughing, but there was no way he could hide his smile. She’d never seen two happier couples than the ones that stood before her. That’s what she wanted too. With Hunter.

Zach was next to pull his fiancée into his arms, wrapping a hand around her waist.

“Yeah, good luck, man.” Zach warned Hunter. “You’re gonna have your hands full from now on.”

Next thing she knew, she was being tugged into Hunter’s side, their hands no longer laced together as he took hold of her hip.

“Looking forward to it.” Hunter’s deep rumble made her all tingly. She was looking forward to it too.

While she was busy basking, glasses started clinking, and everyone’s eyes were diverted to Wade. Standing next to one of the buffet tables, he had his arm around his younger brother Matt, a smile pasted across both of their faces.

“Okay, guys, if I could have your attention, please,” Wade called out again, quieting down the barn in which they all stood.

“I wanna thank y’all for coming out today to celebrate my little brother’s birthday. If you know Matt, then you’ll know that we’re still waiting for his brain to catch up with this old-ass body of his.”

“Hey!” Matt shoved his brother, but it didn’t break Wade’s rhythm.

“Anyway, Matt aging another year isn’t the only thing we have to celebrate. As you know, my brothers and I recently took over the Evans ranch, and we’ve been making a few changes. A few very big changes.

“Well, one of those changes will be that, as of next month, we’re gonna be opening the ranch up to guests. As well as some pretty sweet guest cabins, we’re teaming up with the McBride’s to offer riding lessons, trail rides, and fishing for locals and tourists. So, if you’ve got folks coming in from outta town, don’t forget to give us a call.”

A round of hollers commenced. Rachel glanced over at Zach and Libby and saw she was looking up at her fiancé with pride in her eyes. Zach, being the eldest of the Evans brothers, had a big hand in helping the ranch diversify, and as a result, the business was now in the black.

“Okay, okay, I’ll shut up. But before I do, let’s raise our glasses to Matt. Happy birthday, man! You’re officially too old to fit birthday candles on your cake.”

A round of “happy birthdays” rang around the room as Hunter tugged Rachel closer. It felt so good to be there with him. Finally. No more stolen looks or awkward conversations. She’d even stopped blushing. Well, outside the bedroom anyway.

This was going to work; she knew it. It had to. Right now, she couldn’t contemplate any other outcome, because it was too late. Rachel had fallen for this man. Hard. And if it didn’t work, she knew deep down that things would never be the same again.

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