Page 37 of Beautiful Harmony

“Right, but,” Rayna glanced at Emma, “I thought you were in New Cassel for work.”

“Finished early.” He couldn’t stop staring at Emma’s breasts which made him a real fucking pervert but holy shit, he wasn’t made of fucking stone. Well, maybe his cock was currently.

The silence spread out, thick and awkward, and the tension between him and Emma was palpable enough that a toddler could have felt it.

He needed to leave, but he couldn’t stop staring at her.

“That’s a fantastic costume, Emma,” Addison said. “Did you get that here in Harmony Falls?”

“No,” Emma’s voice sounded as weird as his, “I got it in Riverton.”

“It looks lovely on you,” Addison said. “Oh, I meant to tell you I finished that shawl I was working on. The yarn worked up so beautifully.”

Lucas would have fucking kissed Addison if he didn’t think Preacher would rip his head off his body and give it to Tank to play with. He settled for giving Addison a grateful look as she and Emma discussed yarn, and the awkwardness dissipated.

He took a deep breath, backing away a little from the group. Connor joined him and quietly said, “You okay?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Because even from across the room, I saw the look on your face when you saw Emma. You two still fighting?”

He nodded. “I didn’t expect her to be here tonight.”

“A bunch of people showed up who weren’t expected.” Connor studied the crowd of people. “They’re freaking loud too. How hilarious will it be if the sheriff gets a noise complaint in his own damn town?”

Lucas laughed, but it sounded forced and half-hearted. “Yeah, that’d be funny. Hey, I think I’m gonna go.”

Connor frowned. “You just got here.”

“I know, but it’s weird between me and Emma, and I don’t want to ruin the party.”

“It’s not weird,” Connor said.

“It’s weird.” Nathan joined them, pulling some more popcorn from his shirt to eat.

“Nathan,” Connor said with a look.

“What? It is weird, so you should take her somewhere quiet right now and talk it out. Then you can both enjoy the party.”

“Now isn’t the right time,” Lucas said.

“It’s the perfect time,” Nathan said. “Trust me, the longer you wait, the harder it gets to fix shit. I know from experience.”

Lucas watched Emma say something to Rayna before smiling at the others and weaving through the crowd toward the kitchen.

“Go talk to her, bud,” Nathan said.

He glanced at Connor, who shrugged. “You will feel better if you talk to her.”

Lucas sighed. “Fuck, you’re right. I’ll talk to her now. If you hear screaming, come rescue me because Emma probably has me in a headlock.”

“Oh, please,” Connor said. “If Emma puts you in a headlock, you’ll be too busy drooling over her breasts to scream for help.”

Nathan snorted laughter as Lucas glared at Connor. “Don’t be an ass, Connor.”

Connor grinned. “It’s not exactly a secret how much you love a lady’s bosom.”

“Bosom?” Lucas said, grinning despite his annoyance. “Christ, Connor.”

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