Page 43 of Thinking It Over

A mug to his lips, Frankie’s gaze shifted behind me. I followed his line of sight, realizing Austin had appeared. “No, thanks. I’m good. You guys have a good time.”

I shot Austin the stink eye, pretty sure he’d silently encouraged his brother to say no. A not-so-innocent glint in his eyes, along with a quirked brow, was his response. After rolling my eyes at Austin, I turned back to Frankie. “Ignore him. I’d like your company.”

Masculine arms wrapped around me from behind. “You need more than my company?” he said quietly, his warm breath sweeping across my neck. “I’d planned to take a blanket.”

My lips twitched at his sweetness while Frankie snorted his laughter.

“You know, I’m tempted to come just to piss you off,” Frankie said to his brother.

Austin flipped him off.

“I will be honest with you, though, Jasper.” Amusement tumbled with sincerity when Frankie said, “Rude Dick never got this sort of reaction from my big brother.” He followed through with a nod. “Austin’s never been into PDA or sweeping men off—”

“Hey,” Austin interrupted.

“What?” Frankie shrugged. “It’s all true and it’s all good.” He then focused on me and winked.

Not sure what to think of Frankie’s declaration, I swallowed my emotion down, right along with any reaction. While it was all sorts of nice to think that what Austin and I had was different as well as real, I would only trust myself and Austin for that share. “So, breakfast,” I finally said in response. “What’s cooking?”

Frankie grinned, and Austin kissed my neck before whispering, “It’s all true,” and my stomach flipped over.

“Uh, pancakes?” I managed to say before I swooned right where I stood.

The past couple of days,it finally felt as though I was getting a routine. After becoming friendly with Lizzie, lunches at work were much more comfortable, and I felt like I was actually taking a break. I’d also managed to have some quality time with Austin after school Monday, and we’d agreed to an impromptu coffee and then dinner with Mom tonight.

It seemed only right that I introduce Mom to the man who was stealing all my attention while making me deliriously happy. That led us to my old place of work to pick Mom up after her shift.

The positive change in her had been phenomenal. Grief didn’t suddenly stop overnight. I knew that, but I had my mom back. There was a lightness in her eyes that was slowly shifting the sadness aside. Her happiness was important, and what I wanted so desperately, and I had my former boss to thank for it.

“Honestly, I should be thanking you as well as shaking you. Why didn’t you tell me how amazing your mom is?” Davis’s grin was wide and friendly.

I smirked. “What, and end up fired when you realized how incredible she is, especially in comparison to me?” I rolled my eyes and finally indicated Austin, not yet having had the opportunity to introduce him sinceDavis had all but fallen on me with thanks. “Davis, I wanted to introduce you to Austin.”

Austin shook Davis’s proffered hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Davis said, stepping back and nodding toward an empty table. “So you’re the principal who’s finally turned this one’s head, huh?” Humor and curiosity colored his words.

“I think he’s the one who’s turned mine,” Austin said suavely. I smirked and leaned into him, hooking my finger through one of his belt loops. He still wore his work pants and button-up, sans tie, and with his sleeves rolled up, he looked sexy as hell. I’d never thought forearm porn was a thing, but honest to God, I was sure he managed to make every movement and tensing of muscle seem like the opening to foreplay.

I waved over at Mom, who was dealing with a customer. Happiness radiated from her, and unexpected emotion spread through my chest.

Davis’s gentle voice cut through my moment. “She really is amazing.”

My gaze settled on him as I sat, Austin sitting close to my side, his thigh brushing against mine. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her like this,” I admitted, and Austin’s palm settled on my leg, giving it a gentle squeeze. I huffed a breath and shook off the lingering emotions. A smile tugged at my lips. “And how goes the wedding prep? All sorted out?”

Joy radiated from Davis as his mouth curved upward. “Yes, finally. I don’t know how people plan a big wedding.” He shook his head in genuine wonder. “Ours is super low-key and small, yet it’s still taken so much planning.”

I nodded, not quite really understanding what there was to do. Say I do? Have a party? Done, right? Admittedly, I hadn’t been to a wedding since I was a kid. I knew a couple of friends from college had married, courtesy of Facebook marital status updates, but it was no one close. Though, I hadn’t really formed any strong bonds with college friends. It had only been a couple of years or so, and we’d already drifted apart.

“When both my sisters married, they turned into bridezillas,” Austin said, his amusement clear. “It wasn’t until Debbie’s wedding that I realized it was a real thing. She was stressed to hell. It was a great wedding, though. Fun,” he quickly clarified.

“I hear you,” Davis said. “I’ll be honest, I can’t wait to get my ring on Scott’s finger, but I think we’re both wishing we’d ran off to Vegas or something.”

Understanding registered. “Ted?” I asked.

“How’d you guess?” Davis wiped a hand over his face.

“Do I want to know?” Austin asked.

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