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“I guess we’re drinking outside tonight.” She bites her lower lip.
“I can tell them to take a break with the fire if it bothers you.” I didn’t miss when she flinched last night as we walked by it.
“I appreciate it, but I’m okay. Sitting around the campfire was one of my favorite things to do growing up. We’d camp out on the pasture sometimes, roasting marshmallows and telling stories. I refuse to let them take that from me—whoever they are.”
Determination flares in her eyes, and I respect the hell out of her.
She rolls her shoulders back. “So what do you say? You coming?”
“You know you don’t have to hang out with them, right? East only gets worse the more booze you put in him.”
“Then it will make for an entertaining evening.” She waits for me to stand, and I kind of love that she doesn’t back down.
That for God only knows what reason, she wants to hang out with my brothers for my sake.
We find the guys at the firepit, and Lawson has joined them. He hired a live-in nanny last week to give him flexibility for club business, so I have to assume she’s with Max. Lawson sits between Aiden and East. One of the girls is trying to get his attention, but he barely looks at her, much less tries to hold a conversation.
Now that I think about it, I haven’t seen Lawson entertain a single girl since I’ve been here. Not that I have either.
Except for Harloe, who takes the seat at my side.
She leans close, whispering so no one can hear her over the crackle of the fire. “You sure do have a captive audience.”
I follow her gaze, where one of East’s girls is watching me.
“Hmm, I guess you’re right.” I grab Harloe’s waist and pull her closer. She lets out the cutest little yelp as her body collides with mine. “Too bad I’m taken.”
She’s so close I can make out the threads of purple in her eyes. They sparkle with the flames dancing in the fire. Her mouth is a breath from mine, and given the show we’re supposed to be putting on, I’m tempted to kiss her under the guise of putting on an act for them. But I don’t.
I grab the whiskey when Aiden passes it over, taking a long drink before handing the bottle to Harloe.
“I love nights like this.” She sighs, looking up at the stars.
“Even considering the company?”
Her gaze moves to East, who’s telling an animated story across the fire. “He’s a lot. But you’re not so bad.”
“Not so bad, huh? I’ll take the compliment even if the bar has been set incredibly low.”
She chuckles when I snag the whiskey out of her hands. “I don’t mean it like that. Honestly, I kind of love this place. Being here. Being around you… it’s calming.”
She glances away like she’s worried what I’ll think about that, so I grip her chin and turn her face back to me. “You calm me too.”
“People don’t usually say that kind of thing about me,” she admits, her cheek turning a beautiful shade of pink when my thumb brushes over it. “I think I’m better at stressing people out. I’ve always had a lot of energy.”
“I can handle your energy just fine, cowgirl.” I release her face and tilt my head toward East. “You’re nothing compared to that one. You really held your own in there. His thought process tends to scare people.”
“Understandable. He’s…”
“Ridiculous. Comical.”
“Different,” she decides. “Which is a good thing. It would be boring if we were all the same. That’s probably why I loved psychology so much. There’s nothing like picking apart someone’s brain.”
“Is that what you’re up to over there? Picking apart my brain?”
“Unintentionally.”
“Oh yeah? So what have you figured out?”
