Owen grins. “Yeah, I am.” He motions for Logan to follow him. “Her friend thinks I’m hot, which translates into thinking you’re hot. Kind of. We might look alike, but I have the winning personality.”
Logan brings his beer to his lips and doesn’t say anything. Owen stands there, looking at Logan as if there’s something seriously wrong with him. I lean back, always amused by these two.
“Nah, I’m staying here.” Logan rests his arms on the table, taking another swig of beer.
“What the fuck?” Owen’s eyes widen.
Logan shrugs. “I’m not feeling a one-night stand tonight.” He flicks his eyes to mine, knowing I understand where he’s coming from. With Dean married and Quinn engaged and planning her wedding, thoughts of settling down are hanging heavy above him too.
“Are you sick?” Owen sinks into the chair next to Logan. “Should I get Archer?”
Logan rolls his eyes. “Fuck you. Don’t you want something more?”
“As long as I’m getting laid, I’m happy,” Owen says, and I believe him. Sometimes I wish I could be as carefree as him, but having a kid changed all that. Jackson is my world, and I won’t even think about bringing anyone new into our lives unless it’s the real deal.
Logan shifts his gaze to the girls Owen was talking to. “Don’t you want someone a little more…uh…cultured?”
“She’s cultured, all right,” Owen says and holds up his hand. “Pop-cultured. I bet she knows everything there is to know about the Kardashians.”
“Go get em’, tiger,” Logan says, making a shooing gesture with his hands. Owen mumbles something incoherent and wanders off. Dean and Archer, who’ve been playing pool since we got here, come over and join us at the table.
“You’re not out there on the prowl?” Dean asks Logan, grabbing his beer from the table and taking a swig.
“Nope. It’s more fun sitting here giving Wes shit about his hot nanny. He says there’s nothing going on between them.”
“Her name is Scarlet, and there’s nothing going on between us.”
“Don’t lie to us, man.” Dean raises his eyebrows. “We’ve seen you two flirting and giving each other fuck-me eyes. You’re sleeping with her, aren’t you?”
“Nope.”
“Why not? You two obviously want each other.”
I shake my head. “Just because I want her doesn’t mean I should go for it.” Everyone looks at me like I’m crazy. With a sigh, I pick at the label on my beer. “What if things don’t work out? I wouldn’t just be losing a friend, I’d be losing a nanny, one Jackson really likes and one I actually trust.”
“But what if they don’t?” Archer says, and all eyes fall on him. “Trust me, I understand where you’re coming from. I waited years to tell Quinn how I felt because I was afraid of what would happen when I finally did.” He looks across the bar at her and smiles without meaning to. “I’ll spare you the details since she’s your sister, and you guys know how happy we are. But I do regret the time I lost every now and then.” He looks back at me. “If you like her, tell her. At least you’ll know one way or another.”
“She’s into you,” Dean goes on. “I can tell. And she already lives with you and knows what a tyrant you can be.”
“I’m not a tyrant,” I say, and both my brothers give me dubious looks. “It’s not the right time.”
“Weston,” Logan starts, and I know whatever he has to say is going to be seriously simply by the fact that he called me by my whole name. “You can date again. You can hook up again. You can have no-strings sex with anyone who wants to participate. And you should. Daisy is gone, and if she comes back, she’s going to know she’s not welcome.”
I peel the label down the bottle and nod. “You’re right.”
“What?” Logan asks, blinking. “Did I hear you correctly?”
“Yeah,” I say with a laugh. I look across the bar at Scarlet again, and my heart lurches in my chest. “You’re right. Daisy is gone, and it’s time to move on.” I look my brother in the eye. “And this time, I want to.”
“That was fun,” Scarlet says, looping her arm through mine. We’re leaving the bar, and I think she’s a little drunk. I swallow hard, soaking in the warmth of her skin. I’m carrying a take-out bag full of burgers and fries for us to eat once we get back to the house.
“It was,” I agree, aware of the way my heart speeds up as soon as she’s near. “I haven’t gone out like that in a while.”
“I know. Quinn told me. She’s really talkative when she drinks.”
I laugh. “She drank tonight?”
“She had one glass of wine and it was more than enough to make her loopy.” Scarlet tightens her hold on my arm, having a bit of difficulty walking through the uneven gravel in her tall heels. “This was her first time going out and having a drink since before she got pregnant, but something tells me she’s always a lightweight.”
“She is, but Dean’s worse. Don’t tell him I told you.”
Scarlet laughs, clinging to me after her ankle almost twists. We get to the Jeep and she lets go of my arm, walking around to the edge of the parking lot. It butts up to a cornfield, and a big half-moon hangs high above it. Stars dot the black sky, and the night is quiet.
“What are you looking at?” I ask her, setting the food down on the hood of my Jeep and unzipping my jacket. She has a black sweater over her dress but no coat. I take mine off and drape it around her shoulders.
“Thanks,” she says quietly and pulls the coat tightly around herself. “And nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“I’m looking at nothing. And I like it.” She tips her head back and reaches for me. My heart pounds, and I think back to what was said in the bar. I like her—more than like her. I step forward and wrap her in my arms.
“I never thought I’d end up in a place like this,” she says quietly. I’m behind her, with my arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She leans back against me.
“Like this?”
“Quiet. Safe. A place I’d like to call home.”
“You can call it home,” I say without thinking. “I mean, you’re here for a job, I know, but once Jackson is too old for a nan—or if you want to leave or…or—”
“You’re cute when you get flustered.” She smiles as she turns around to look at me. “And maybe I will.” She takes a few steps out in the dirt that leads to the cornfield and holds out her hands. “Look at this. I’m behind a bar and don’t feel threatened for my life. Partly because you’re with me.”
“Was it really that bad where you lived in Chicago?”
She turns around and nods. “Yeah, but you learn how to deal. Don’t go out at night alone…carry something that either is a weapon or looks like a weapon…avoid certain streets and places after dark.” She shakes her head and puts on her mask again, pretending everything is okay. Looking up at the sky again, she becomes completely still for a moment. “I think I saw a shooting—wait, it’s an airplane.”