Page 71 of Stick Around,
“No! I...” I hesitated, realizing I still had no idea what the men had planned. “No one has told me where we’re going or what we’re doing.”
Reid’s smile widened to a devastating grin. “That’s because it’s a surprise.”
I glanced down at my dusty jeans and sweaty T-shirt. “Am I supposed to dress up? Because right now I look like I’ve been rolling around in the paddock with the goats.”
Reid’s eyes traveled down my body and back up in a slow appraisal that sent heat creeping into my cheeks. “What you’re wearing now is fine.”
“This?” I gestured at my decidedly unglamorous outfit. “You can’t be serious.”
“Maybe change your shirt to a fresh one and bring a light jacket.” Reid started backing away, the smile never leaving his lips.
“Reid Dawson!” I called after him. “Where are we going?”
He tapped the side of his nose and continued walking backward. “Six o’clock.”
I huffed in exasperation as he turned and walked away, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
Junebug nickered softly beside me, as if she were laughing too.
I patted her neck. “Well, at least I don’t have to stress about what to wear.”
But that left me with more time to stress about everything else. Where were we going that my current outfit would be appropriate? A hayride? Cow tipping? Some weird cowboy ritual involving fence post inspection?
And more importantly, why was I overthinking this so much? This wasn’t my first time alone with these men. We’d already been intimate in ways that made my cheeks burn thinking about it.
Yet somehow, an official date felt more significant than all of that. More intentional. And intention implied a future, which was something that apparently none of them were considering.
I gave Junebug one final pat and stepped back. “Wish me luck, girl. I have no idea what I’m walking into tonight.”
As I headed back toward the house to shower off the day’s dust, I tried to quiet the voice in my head that kept asking the same question: If they knew I was leaving soon, why bother with a date at all?
Unless they were planning to ask me to stay? Or this was a nice send-off before I returned to real life.
Either way, I had a few hours to settle my nerves before finding out what the evening held. I hoped my heart would survive whatever they had planned.
Chapter 23
Funnel Cakes
Enzo
Iadjusted my grip on the steering wheel as the traffic on the highway slowed. We were headed toward the fairgrounds, and I snuck another glance at Quinn in the passenger seat. The evening sun caught in her hair, turning the strands to honey, and I forced my eyes back to the road before I got us all killed staring at her.
“Cotton candy is god-tier fair food,” Kellan announced from the backseat. “Then funnel cake, then those giant turkey legs, then anything deep-fried on a stick.”
Quinn laughed, but the sound didn’t match her eyes.
I’d come to recognize that disconnect in the past three weeks. She was smiling, nodding at all the right moments, but there was something tight around her eyes and something restless in the way she kept smoothing her hands over her jeans.
Reid made a noise in his throat. “Hard disagree. Funnel cake reigns supreme. The powdered sugar alone puts it at the top.”
I flicked my eyes to the rearview mirror. “Kettle corn.”
All three of them turned to stare at me.
I shrugged one shoulder. “Sweet and salty. Perfect balance.”
Quinn’s lips curved into something closer to a real smile. “I thought you were going to say something about taking your own snacks like a responsible adult.”
