Page 14 of One Unexpected Gift

“You didn’t seem to mind it earlier working with Red.”

“Red?” Nick cracked open a water bottle and gulped half of it down. “She know you call her that?”

“Yup.” Owen snagged the bottle from him and finished off the rest. “Pisses her off something fierce.”

“You always were one to piss off the ladies.”

“Especially Charlie. But the make-up sex is totally worth it.”

“You’re an ass.” He picked up another bottle from the cooler and shifted it to his left hand, further away from Owen’s reach.

“Speaking of ass, don’t think I haven’t noticed how much your eyes zero in on Red’s.”

“How the hell did someone like you snag a woman like Charlie?” Nick laughed.

“The same way you’re hoping you can snag Sky.”

“I don’t want to snag her.”

“Shag?”

“Who says that?”

“The way I see it,” Owen picked up the grill brush and scrubbed it across the grates, cleaning off the residue, “you want to do just about everything with my dear sister-in-law. Seems you should be doing some ass kissing to me, so I’ll put in a good word for you.”

“I don’t need you interfering with my sex life.”

“You mean your lack of sex life.”

“How do you know I’m not getting lucky on a regular basis?”

“Because you wouldn’t have that constipated look on your face all the time.”

Feminine laughter worked its way around the corner of the building before the four women came into view.

Charlie and her blonde ponytail bounced over to them first. “Hey sexy.” She lifted up on her tiptoes and kissed Owen on the lips. “When will the burgers be ready? We’re starving.”

“They would be on the grill already but this pain in the ass keeps yapping his gums and distracting me. Can you do me a favor and get him out of my hair?”

Charlie winked at him. “The girls and I would be more than happy to have Nick hang with us.” She looped her arm through his and dragged him over to Skylar, who hadn’t stopped tracing her toe in the dirt and hadn’t made eye contact with him yet.

“Thanks again for the food donation,” Brooke said unnecessarily before taking a seat at the picnic table.

“Like I said, it’s the least I could do.”

“You also gave us countless hours of your time helping get the grounds ready for our campers this past spring,” Gina said, also unnecessarily, taking a seat next to Brooke.

“And you—”

Nick cut Charlie off. “Can I get you ladies something to drink? There’s water, lemonade, and a variety of sodas.”

“That’s very sweet of you,” Charlie cooed, taking a spot next to Gina.

That left the other side of the table open for Skylar and him. He hid his grin while he took their beverage order. A minute later, he was back with his hands full and doled out the drinks before slipping next to Skylar.

Three pairs of eyes danced between him and Skylar, and three mouths curved up in girly grins. Skylar squirmed in her seat next to him and uncapped and capped her water bottle a hundred times.

He’d actually rather sit across from her so he could see her, but he appreciated her friends trying to push them together.

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