Page 150 of Resting Beach Face
His smile widened. “Oh, Mr. Sullivan, you make meveryhappy. No worries there.”
I laughed and decided we better leave before Cash got other ideas.
Hudson waved us over as soon as we entered The Rusty Hook. They’d pushed two tables together. Now that all the friends were coupled up, the group had doubled in size.
Tonight was a special occasion, Brooks’s two-year anniversary with Skylar. He’d wanted us all to meet up here, where the two had first met and fallen in love back when Brooks bartended and managed the pub.
Everyone had turned out.
Fisher sat so close to Hudson he was practically on his lap, while Poppy sat on the edge of her chair with near perfect posture, her platonic partner Jasmine, from Hot Buns, beside her. Once she became part of the group, they’d folded in Danny and Abe, as well. Dannywasactually in Abe’s lap, not just close to it, with one arm draped around his shoulders. Sawyer slouched in his chair, ballcap over his curls, though a few spilled out. He’d hooked an ankle around Ash’s calf, sending him a playful smirk when he thought no one was looking.
Cash approached the table, shaking the box of Glazed Holes we’d gotten from Lyle and Truman when they arrived in town. “Delivery from Granville!”
Fisher’s eyes lit up. “Who’s here?”
“Truman and Lyle,” Cash said. “Do you know them?”
Fisher pursed his lips, eyes growing distant as he thought. Then his gaze latched onto something by the door. “Oh! Yes.” He stood and waved an arm. “Guys! Come over here!”
A glance confirmed that Truman and Lyle had taken Cash’s advice to grab dinner at the pub. They approached us.
“Fisher, right?” Truman said. “We met at a barbecue at Garrett’s place, didn’t we?”
“Garrett, who’s with the drag queen?” I asked.
They turned surprised eyes on me. “Yeah, that’s Kevin. We’re good friends, actually. They told us how great their B&B stay was, so we had to try it out.”
Cash snorted. “Declan is obsessed with Sassy Solo.”
“I am not,” I protested as they all laughed. “Sassy’s just very impressive on the stage.”
“That better be the only place Sassy is impressive,” Cash muttered.
“I’m sure Garrett thinks Kevin is impressive in all sorts of places,” Truman said while Lyle shook his head with a fond smile.
“I mean, he’d have to be impressive to snag his best friend’s dad, right?”
“Best friend’s dad,” Cash said with a delighted laugh. “That’s almost as bad as what Fisher did.”
“Good, I think you mean,” Fisher said with an unrepentant grin. Then, for the Granville guys’ benefit, he added, “My dad doesn’t like Hudson.”
“Didn’t like,” Hudson clarified. “He likes me now.”
“Eh…” Fisher waved his hand in a so-so motion, then broke off with a squeak when Hudson pinched his side.
“We didn’t mean to barge in,” Lyle said. “We’ll leave you all to your night.”
“You’re welcome to join us,” Skylar said with a kind smile. He was always the sweetest, most welcoming of the friend group.Not that they weren’t all nice, but there was just this genuine empathy in Skylar. He really, truly welcomed everyone.
“That’s all right,” Truman said. “We came on this trip to spend some time alone. We hang out in groups just like this all the time back home.”
“Which is great,” Lyle put in quickly.
“Just not what you’re looking for on this trip,” I added. “We understand. Enjoy your evening.”
Cash and I took the two remaining chairs while Lyle and Truman found a quieter corner alone. They seemed like nice guys.
Cash nudged me. “You’re better with people than you think you are.”
