Page 47 of Drilled (Dad Bod Contracting 2)
Ooh, things are heating up in here! James and Nova, Ryder and Laurel…? I wonder which will be the first to pair off?
Nova and Imogen are exchanging glances, and then Imogen kicks my shin gently with her bare foot. “I think he heard you.”
I snort. “You think?”
She shakes her head. “The sexual tension between you two is so thick you could cut it with a spoon.”
Nova laughs. “Cut with a spoon and eat it like ice cream, because that tension is delicious. You should’ve seen the way they stared each other down. I’m pretty sure Audra might be pregnant from how hard Franco was eye-fucking her.”
I huff, wishing I could come up with a witty, searing denial. But I can’t. Because I’m also fairly certain I could be pregnant from the way he was eye-fucking me. “It’s a little sexual tension, so what?” I glance at James. “We’re both adults. We can handle a party with mutual friends.”
“Yeah, but the question is can the rest of us handle the tension between you?” Imogen says. “Because it’s so thick the air is dripping with it.”
“So, James.” I say, a little too loudly. “How did I not know you had two adorable daughters?”
Imogen laughs. “I didn’t know either until I showed up here today, and if you count my original call to Dad Bod, I’ve technically known James longer than I’ve known Jesse!”
James rolls his shoulders. “I’m protective of them. I don’t bring them around work very often. I work with my three best friends, so it’s already hard to keep work and personal separate, but I try not to let my work life bleed into theirs too much.”
I gesture at the kitchen and the backyard in a sweep of my hand. “But we’re all here?”
He nods. “This is entirely personal. Me, my three best friends, my buddy’s girlfriend, and a few of her friends, just so it’s not a total sausage fest.”
“But I’ve known you, on at least a little bit of a personal level, for months now, and the fact that you have two daughters has never once come up,” Imogen says. “It is a little weird.”
James sighs. “Like I said, I’m protective of them. I wasn’t keeping them a secret from you, I just…” He shrugs. “They’ve been through a lot. I’m a little weird about it, I guess.” He pushes off the stool. “I’m gonna go see how Ryder’s doing with the meat.”
After he’s gone, Jesse raps his knuckles on the island countertop. “He only brings certain people around the girls. Me and the other guys are it, usually, plus the nanny he’s had watching them after school since…well, since things changed for him. It’s his story to tell, though, not mine, which is why I’ve never said anything either.” He gestures at Nova, Imogen, me, and Laurel as she enters at that moment. “It’s actually a really huge step for him to let outsiders into this party. It’s usually just the four us and the girls every year.”
Laurel is looking flushed, her tan skin pinking at her cheekbones. She’s visibly bursting with something to say, fidgeting with things on the counter, glancing at me and the other girls, and then at Jesse.
Imogen notices this, and pushes at Jesse’s shoulder. “Hey, Jess? I think Ryder and James and Franco could use a little more help out there.”
Jesse eyes the other men, who are standing around the grill talking, occasionally glancing this way. “Oh, they’re fine.”
Imogen smiles up at him, lifting an eyebrow suggestively. “I think they could use your help, actually. I’m pretty certain.”
Jesse’s eyes widen. “Ohhh. Right. Yeah. Got it.” He heads for the doorway, pauses, turns around and flips open a cabinet over the fridge and snags a bottle of Dalmore. “Just gonna take this.” And then he’s gone, only to return to grab four glasses from a different cabinet. “And these. Sorry. Leaving. Bye.”
Imogen laughs at him, covering her love-smitten grin with one hand. When he’s actually, truly gone, Imogen shakes her head. “Gosh, I just love that guy.”
I shake my head, my stomach flipping at the way she’s looking at him, at the obvious and ice-melting love between them. “You look like you’re about to pop, Laurel. Spill it!”
Laurel squeals, clapping her hands. “We’ve got a date!”
My eyes bug out. “A date? Already?”
Laurel nods, barely suppressing giggles of excitement. “Next Friday!”
Nova is just smirking. “That was fast.”
“No kidding,” Imogen adds.
Laurel shrugs, batting her eyelashes with a cutesy grin. “What can I say? The man clearly can’t help himself. He just knows a good thing when he sees her.”
I laugh. “Where are you going, do you know?”
She shakes her head, her jet-black hair waving loose around her shoulders. “Nope! He asked me if I wanted to go out with him sometime soon, and I said yes, and he suggested Tuesday or Wednesday, but I have late meetings both days and he has a union softball game Thursday, so we’re going out Friday!” She’s positively vibrating with excitement. “I asked him if he had anywhere specific in mind, and he said yeah but it’ll be a surprise. Which I’m fine with.” Laurel squeals, claps her hands again, and then settles, turning to Nova. “Soooo, Nova…I saw you and James getting a little cozy over by the beer cooler earlier.”
