Page 66 of Old Flame

Rome shook his head but kept holding my gaze. “No, it’s not new.”

This was…not what I had expected today. Or was this because we were friends? Adult friends who had a past. Was I the one making it awkward? God, I needed a handbook to navigate this.

“I thought you’d be headed back to Ocala by now,” Pepper said, saving me from having to speak.

“Not going back anytime soon. Things require me to stay here.”

“Things?” Nina asked with a chuckle.

A crooked grin touched his lips. “You’re being nosy, Nina.”

“There you are,” a female voice called out.

I glanced back to see it was Nixie strutting into the kitchen in what looked like a bra and panties.

Pepper muttered a curse beside me, and Goldie shot the new arrival an annoyed glare before she walked over to the stove.

“You weren’t in bed, and I didn’t know where you had gone,” Nixie said as she walked up behind Rome and put her arms around his chest, pressing her huge boobs against his back. “Morning,” she cooed in his ear.

That was the cold water of reality I’d needed to snap me out of thinking things were something that they weren’t. I wasn’t the something keeping Rome here. She was. I wanted to leave, seeing as my appetite was now gone.

If I made an excuse to leave, then I’d look as if I cared. No need to further my embarrassment. Might as well defuse it rather than feed it. Rome liked his women young and their bodies ondisplay. I wasn’t young, and there was no way in hell I’d ever walk around like that.

I plastered on my best smile. “Here,” I said to her. “You can have this seat. I was just going to make myself a cup of coffee and see what I could do to help Nina and Goldie.”

I didn’t make eye contact with Rome, but stood up and gave her my stool. The cutoff blue jean shorts, which were Pepper’s, no longer felt as if they were too short, even if my butt was too big for them They might as well be pants compared to the way Nixie was dressed. As I walked around the counter, Goldie and Nina both fell into the act like champs.

“Once you get your coffee, I’ll show you how to roll out the dough,” Nina told me as she picked up a large bowl and went back to the space beside the oven that was covered in flour.

We had not once talked about me helping them. Not because I didn’t want to help, but because I had been following Pepper’s lead. I assumed they didn’t like extra hands in the kitchen, and I hadn’t wanted to invade their turf.

“I bought some new creamer. Try it. It is to die for. I’d offer it to Pepper, but she’d snarl her nose at it,” Goldie said.

“Because I drink coffee the way God intended. Black,” Pepper replied.

“Since when did you start caring about what God intended?” Goldie shot back, causing Pepper and Nina to laugh.

I should smile here, so I did, but I kept my back to Rome and his…whatever she was. Taking my time, I poured myself a cup and took a few slow and even breaths.

This was fine. I had been married. Rome and I were…were…maybe on the path to being friends. He was a beautiful, sexy, viral male with a pierced cock to go with his tongue, and he was going to have young women around who he used those things on. If I made it weird by acting uptight and awkward, it would make me look as if I cared.

Mentally preparing myself for this and acting as relaxed as I could, I turned back around and went to the refrigerator. “I’m not badass enough to drink coffee black,” I quipped, trying to go along with the conversation.

“Second shelf on the right. It is the purple bottle that saysLove Is Blindand has a chocolate-covered strawberry on the front,” Goldie informed me.

I scanned the shelves, found it, then poured some into my coffee before facing the rest of them.

“Okay, let’s get back on track,” Nina said as she stirred a pot on the stove. “Since Tex insisted that we continue.”

My eyes shot to Rome then, and he was watching me, although Nixie was perched on one of his thighs rather than the stool I had supplied for her. I did not want to finish this conversation. Ever. Especially with those two in here.

“Get me some coffee,” he said to the girl.

She sprang up with a bright smile, happy to do his bidding.

Yuck. Ew. I rolled my eyes before turning my attention back to Nina. I had to stop her and fast. I was not going to talk about anything concerning Rome.

“So, tonight is your first bonfire, and we need to find you something to wear. Although the way Lick is following you around, I don’t think it’ll matter to him much what you have on.” Nina smiled back at me over her shoulder.

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