Page 105 of Bump and Run
Charlie wrapped an arm around my chest. “Go on, Jonesy.”
“Come sit with us,” called Seth Hill, the curly blond-haired fiancé of Noel and Wyatt. He patted the empty spot next to him, and I headed toward him. “One thing you’ll soon realize is that we love to throw a party around here.” He smiled happily.
Charlie sat next to me. “What are you celebrating today?”
“Jones officially joining our little group,” Ezra answered.
My jaw dropped. That couldn’t be right. I mean, me? They were throwing a party for me? I mean, I had Ollie andTravis, but I wasn’t used to people getting excited over me. Tears burned my eyes as my throat grew tight. “That seems a little much, don’t you think?”
“What seems a little much?” Matthias scooped up his son, Archer, and placed him in his lap. He was the spitting image of Killian, all blue-eyed and dark, curly hair. He clapped his hands together at his fathers as he blabbed absolute nonsense.
I glanced around the room as they all stared at me. “That you’re celebrating me.”
“That shouldn’t be so hard to believe, Bashful. You’re amazing,” Charlie murmured and pressed a kiss into my hair.
Ezra nodded. “Youareamazing. We like you. You’re one of us now. Which means you’re going to get used to us spoiling you.”
“Sorry we’re late.” We all turned as Dean Frost and his boyfriend Beau Whitaker walked around the back of the house. Dean’s green hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, long and flowing. “Jones, right?” He grinned at me. “Which makes you Charlie.” He held out a fist for both of us, introduced his boyfriend, and then went to join his brother.
Charlie wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “You should invite Ollie over sometime. I bet he’d like to make some new friends.”
“Maybe.” My best friend was still hurting over the situation with Kit. Still living with us and ignoring all his problems. He refused to get a divorce as or even discuss anything to do with it. Not exactly healthy. Even Travis couldn’t get him to budge.
Holt nodded in agreement. “We would love to have Ollie.”
“Your gasman, Ollie, right?” Ezra asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, he’s...” I stopped to figure out how to answer the question. “Having a rough time.”
“Invite him over. We’d love to have him. He’s nice,” Holt suggested. “I mean, we’ve hung out a few times.”
Watts growled. “You never told me that.”
“Because we were just two crew guys hanging out, baby. It wasn’t anything like that. Relax,” Holt assured him.
Watts scowled for a moment, then broke into a smile and kissed his husband.
I looked around the yard at all these men who had welcomed me and Charlie into their lives. Friends who had become my friends. I looked over at my husband, who smiled at me.
“Do you want a family with me?”
“I would love to, Bashful, if you want that,” he answered, and when I shook my head, he frowned. “What? Is that not what you want?”
I sighed. “What doyouwant, Charlie? Do you want a family? Because if you don’t, I wouldn’t force you into it.”
“I’ve always wanted a couple of kids. So yes. The answer is yes,” Charlie assured me.
I leaned my head against his shoulder. “Me, too.” Although I didn’t want to do that now. Both of us had our careers ahead of us. And it was going well. It was early in the season, but we had both had a win, and a handful of top tens. I didn’t want to curse things, but I had a good feeling about what was to come.
“Are you going to text Ollie?” Holt interrupted my thoughts.
Maverick nodded in agreement. “Yeah, invite him over. We’d love to meet him.”
I slid my phone from my pocket and texted my best friend. I knew he would probably say no, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt.
***
Much to my surprise, Ollie said yes and then showed up at the Olson house. Maybe he was finally getting back to his old self or ready to move on from the Kit situation, but it was nice to see my friend smiling again, to hear the sound of his laugh as he spoke with Holt, and they reminisced together.
