Page 33 of Protecting Andie

She’d picked a pink knee-length A-line dress that had yellow flowers. Bud clapped his hands as she twirled for him. Rider came over and caught her around the waist and pulled her to him. She looked up, seeing the way his lips tipped up in a smile.

“Oh, I see it,” Bud said.

“See what?” Rider asked.

“You two belong together. She softens your hard edges. You’re a grump, and she makes you human.”

Andie laughed, and Rider rolled his eyes. She liked Bud. At least one of his friends liked her.

They grabbed the food they’d brought and followed Bud to the table with the rest of their stuff. Rider introduced her around to the guys on his team. Then he introduced her to the men who were from Kevlar’s team. Kevlar was there along with Remi. Safe and Blink were there, along with their dates. The other guys from Kevlar’s team had plans already and couldn’t make it.

She chatted with the women and was glad to meet Ellis, Vera, Talia, Wren, and Josie. Remi had been right. The women were seriously nice. She liked Rider’s friends. They all seemed to accept her as if she belonged with Rider. She wanted to cry because she’d never experienced anything like this.

Emily was her best friend, but she was only one person. These people were really good people, and they accepted her.

Rider came over and leaned in close. “You okay?”

She nodded. “Yes. Everyone is just so nice, and they aren’t judging me.”

Rider glanced around. “Yeah, they’re good people. They have my back. I know they would do anything for me.”

“I never thought I’d find as good of a friend as Emily, but I could see these women becoming my friends.”

Rider nodded. “I love my sister, but she’s family. We aren’t necessarily friends.”

Andie nodded. “You also were more like a parent to her.”

“Yeah, there is that.”

“Hey, what are you two whispering about over here?” Hop asked.

Andie flashed a smile. “Just talking about how nice you all are.”

Hop laughed. “Aww, you think we’re nice.”

Vera rolled her eyes. “We are nice. At least I am.”

Hop leaned in and kissed Vera. “You are one of the nicest people I know.”

“We take care of our own,” Trip said.

The other guys nodded. It was nice knowing Rider had this much support. When she left her ex, she’d lost anyone who’d been friends with him. It sucked that Tony had run off all her friends. Only Emily had stuck around after she’d started dating the jerk.

She didn’t think Rider would try to cut her off from her friends. He wanted her to have connections. Having people in her life would keep her safe. She’d lived the other type of existence, having her life winnowed down to only one person and the people who supported him. That way, when he did something unconscionable, there was no one there to check him. With this group, there would always be someone to talk to and check in with her.

“I like that you take care of each other. It’s refreshing.”

Safe turned to Rider. “So you two met at your sister’s wedding, right?”

Rider nodded. “Yes. Andie did so much to help Emily with the wedding. Since I didn’t have specific tasks, I ended up spending a lot of time with Andie.”

“That’s cool. You two seem happy.”

Andie met Rider’s gaze, a smile coming easily. “I am happy.”

“Same. I didn’t think it could be this good.”

“Well, now that you two are a thing, I guess we need to add Andie to the holiday list,” Vera said.

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