Page 61 of Bad Boys After Dark - Brett
Their mother put an arm around each of them and said, “And there’s nothing wrong with that. We all know that you like to play the field, Linds, which I’m pretending means you only kiss the men you go out with and only after very nice dates.”
“I hate to burst your bubble,” Lindsay said with a laugh. “But I think I must be adopted.”
Their mother shook her head. “I assure you, you’re not, and I think I’d know after twelve hours of labor. You’re just more like your dad than me when it comes to settling down. You need to sow your wild oats first. But Sophie’s heart doesn’t work that way. She gives her all. I think she fell for Brett long before now.”
“Mom,” Sophie pleaded. “Can we not dissect the Secret Life of Sophie Roberts tonight?”
“Well, it’s true.” Their mother kissed Sophie’s cheek and finished wrapping the last tray of food. As she put it in the refrigerator she said, “I’ll go grab your dad so you kids can have some fun.”
“That won’t happen until later, when Sophie shows Brett the hayloft,” Lindsay teased, ducking out of reach when Sophie tried to swat her.
“Brat!” When Sophie was in high school, her father had caught her in the hayloft kissing the boy who had later broken her heart. She’d found out the next day that Lindsay had been mad at her about something and she’d told their father where she was.
“You love me.” Lindsay put her arm around Sophie and whispered, “You should totally do it. I’ll send Dad out with a flashlight.” She took off out the door with Sophie on her heels and ran through the yard, both of them laughing.
JJ caught Lindsay around the waist, and she squealed.
Brett intercepted Sophie. What else could she do but barrel into his open arms? They laughed into the kiss as he twirled her around.
His eyes glittered in the moonlight. “Gotchya, beautiful.”
“What are you going to do now that you caught me?”
All that glitter turned to steam. “If I weren’t afraid of embarrassing you, I’d carry you into the barn, strip you down, and take you every which way you’d let me.”
Oh, how she wanted that! But Lindsay and the others were already heading to the barn with their arms full of blankets and a cooler full of beer. “Later,” she said as her toes touched the ground. Then she remembered why she’d been running in the first place and added, “But not in the barn.”
They followed the others down to the barn and sat on blankets draped over hay bales. Sable played her guitar as they caught each other up on their lives and her friends got to know Brett. Time moved like a dream as she and Brett swayed to the music and Lindsay told them about the wedding she was planning for a couple in a neighboring town. She wished Grace could be there. She was the one who had pushed Sophie over the hurdle toward Brett, and she knew Grace would like seeing how happy they were.
“Seriously? Who has a cotton-candy-themed wedding?” Lindsay pulled her legs up beside her on the hay bale. “It’s weird, but it’s going to be cute. The bride’s gown is pale pink, which reminded me of Sophie’s homecoming dress.”
“Oh, Soph,” Trixie said. “I forgot to tell you Shane said he was bummed he couldn’t make it to the party, but he got held up picking up a horse with Trace in Maryland.”
“Trace is another of Trixie and JJ’s brothers,” Sophie explained.
“Does Brett know about you and Shane?” JJ asked.
“You mean that he took me to homecoming? It’s not like he could miss the picture on my parents’ wall.” She smiled up at Brett, and he leaned in for a kiss. She loved that he was comfortable enough around her friends and family to be affectionate. She’d worried when he’d said he was coming with her that he might suddenly realize he’d made a big commitment and freak out. But he clearly hadn’t, and if anything, she felt even closer than she had when they’d arrived.
“I think he means the after-party,” Sable explained.
She should have expected her friends to try to embarrass her. “Geez. Really, you guys?”
“After-party?” Brett’s brows lifted.
