Page 83 of The Secret

I wiped my mouth even though I knew there was nothing there.

“Muz, seriously, what’s the big deal with us knowing?”

I momentarily gave up and focused back on the boys. “It’s not a big deal, but our new relationship is only hours old and I don’t want to fuck it up. I’ve never felt like this before. It’s like something’s sitting on my chest when I’m not with her.”

All three of them looked at each other with a knowing grin, exceptIdidn’t know.

“All I’m saying is, being with her, it’s better than anything I’ve known, but all I’m getting are other people’s opinions right now, and we need to figure out the next step before we listen to anyone else.”

Jasper topped up my glass. “Okay, but you know we’ll all be happy for you.”

“Yeah, I know, and I’m grateful, but everyone’s been trying to marry me off for years, so I just want a bit of time without that pressure and everyone – by that I mean the girls – freaking her out by talking about marriage.”

He nodded solemnly, “Say no more, we got your back. But if you don’t want the girls to know, you might want to cool it.”

“I’m not cooling anything; just tell them I’m not looking for their opinions.”

Jamie snorted through his laughter, raising his glass to us all. “Hey, it’s my baby brother, the comedian, again.”

Freddie reappeared as quickly as they left, flopping down on Cooper again, “What’s Murray being funny about this time?”

I looked around but no-one was following her. “Where’re the others?”

“Still on the dance floor. I wanted some water.” She picked up a bottle the server had brought back while they’d been gone. “What are you being funny about?”

“What am I not funny about?” I deflected with a smirk.

“True.” She sipped her water, and subsequently burped from the bubbles. “I just assumed it had something to do with the way your tongue was hanging out when you saw Kit, but then tried to hide it.”

I schooled my expression to stay as blank as possible, something Rafe would have been proud of.

“You know,” she continued sweetly, fooling no one, “she’s been very popular this evening.”

That made me pay attention. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She shrugged, sinking back into Cooper’s arms. “Just that a lot of men have noticed her. Not wanted, I should add, but more than a few tried to slip her their number.”

My blood went from ninety-eight point six degrees Fahrenheit to boiling in under a second. “Why are you telling me this? Jesus, Franks, you’re such a shit stirrer.”

She laughed in my face, “You’re so predictable.”

There was no one who could wind me up as much as Freddie, mostly because she knew me better than anyone else. If I’d been standing I’d have stomped my foot, just like when we were kids.

“No, I’m fucking not.”

“Yeah, you are. But it’s good, we’re happy for you.”

Knowing Freddie asIdid, there was a good chance she didn’t know anything and I was about to fall into her trap. Sometimes I wondered if she’d be a better lawyer than Rafe, if she’d gone to law school.

“What do you know?”

Her eyes twinkled deviously. “She told us what happened.”

“Yeah, told you what exactly?” I had more faith in Kit than Freddie was giving her credit for. She was strong enough not to crumble under Freddie’s cross examination.

I held her stare, waiting for her to break. Then she did, giggling into Cooper arms, amusing everyone else in our group just as much as she was amusing herself.

I rolled my eyes. “You’re a dick.”

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