He leaned back, watching Ginny as she laughed with Alex.
His position put him close enough that his head was only inches away from Luke’s. “Thank you for being a whole hell of a lot smarter than I was a few minutes ago.”
Luke stretched his arm along the back of Tucker’s chair and leaned in even closer. “You’re my best friend, and if we go outside right now, I will rip your spleen out through your throat.”
“You would try to rip my spleen out,” Tucker corrected him. “I’m still a better fighter than you. But I should’ve given you a heads up, and I’m sorry.”
“What the hell,” Luke complained. “You’re lucky Kelli clued in faster than me what kind of trouble it would make if I threw a fit in public.”
“That’s what I’m apologizing for,” Tucker explained. “Dammit, this was supposed to be a gentle transition into people seeing Ginny and I as a couple.”
“Good job. There is no doubt whatsoever that you have a thing for each other,” Luke said dryly. “How long?”
Damn, Tucker really didn’t want to say nine years. “Long enough that we know we like each other.”
His friend laughed. “You’re such a fucking bullshitter. Answer the damn question. When did you start up with my sister?”
Reluctantly Tucker told the truth. “Remember the year Ginny called from the bar because Dare decided to hold a wake for her family and things were getting out of hand?”
Luke leaned back, exasperation in his body as he shook his head. “Holy crap, man. Seriously? That long ago?”
Tucker shrugged. “She told me it was something she really wanted, and since we were both grown-ups—”
“Don’t give me the details,” Luke complained. “Because I don’t want to know.”
Tucker stayed silent. Not much else he could say in that moment.
Luke took a long drink of his beer, then shook his head, leaning in to continue to curse Tucker out. “Christ. Not once in the past nearly ten years you felt like you should tell me?”
“What was I supposed to say?” Tucker asked seriously.
Luke made a face. “How about ‘I like your sister’?”
They’d been friends for too long. Instinctively, Tucker responded the way he would’ve to any other prompt. “Luke, I like your sister.”
His friend grimaced. Then his lips quivered, and his eyes rolled back in his head. Then he full on laughed, smacking a hand on Tucker’s shoulder a touch harder than a friendly good-old-boy pat. “You’re such a jackass. Fine. I’m glad you like my sister. Good luck dealing with her because while she’s one of the most wonderful people I know, she is a fucking handful.”
“Thank you for not blowing a gasket and making things tougher for me and the whole apprenticeship deal.”
Luke shrugged and took another pull on his beer. “What you should be thanking me for is the fact that I’m not going to beat you up later.”
“You mean you’re not going to try to beat me up.”
His friend shook his head disbelievingly. “You didn’t tell me you slept with my sister.”
Ginny was back. Settling, of course, into Tucker’s lap. She glared at her brother. “For fuck’s sake. We already talked about this. Leave Tucker alone. Besides, I talked him into it. It took three hours before he caved.”
Luke blinked then glared at Tucker. “Why did it take that long? Didn’t think she was good enough for you?”
Delight rolled in hard. “Now you want to beat me up for not sleeping with her fast enough?”
“Sounds about right,” Luke agreed.
Ginny sighed, a huge, exasperated thing. “Luke.”
Tucker was so stinking amused. “Is there any scenario in your brain where I don’t get beat up?”
Luke considered for a moment. “Not that I can see.”
Kelli outright laughed. She shoved at Luke’s shoulder then gestured to the dance floor. “Come on. Instead of threatening to beat people up, we’ll burn off energy on the dance floor, deal?”
“Brilliant.” Ginny was on her feet, hauling Tucker after her. She spoke to Kelli on the side. “Dinner at my place tomorrow for the four of us, yes?”
“We’ll be there with bells on,” Kelli promised.
Then Ginny was back in Tucker’s arms and everything was right with his world.
The music turned slow and soft. As Ginny swayed in his arms, she looked thoughtful. “I hope that went better than expected.”
“I screwed up,” Tucker admitted. “I know Luke doesn’t have an issue with us being together, and he’s not really talking about sex. But I did blindside him. We’re best friends, and until now, we've shared about the important things in our lives. That’s on me, and I’m grateful he reacted in a way that keeps things rolling forward with this new job. I’m grateful he’s my friend.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have teased you into moving too fast.”
No way. “Goddess, you do things to my brain that I don’t expect, but you’re not responsible for my actions. I’m an adult, and if I can’t think things through a little harder before I act, that’s on me. Never you.”
She dipped her chin. “Okay. I still feel a little guilty.”
“Well, feelings are feelings, but I’m saying you need to remember it’s not your fault. And in the end, things turned out fine.” He twirled her a little closer, savouring the feel of her body’s heat. “Let’s focus on that part, okay?”
She twisted her head to rest it on his shoulder, swaying comfortably against him. “Okay.”
A great evening on the dance floor turned into an even better evening in Ginny’s bed. Tucker caught himself whistling as he crossed the distance between her cottage and the barns the next morning.
Of course, if he’d wanted an example of how fast the rumour mill operated, he had it in spades. As he grabbed a cup of coffee in the mess hall, more grins were aimed his way than usual. A few hours later, he turned the corner in the barn and came face to face with Dustin, who was definitely not wearing a grin.
“We need to talk,” Dustin said gruffly, staring accusingly at Tucker.
Tucker pulled in his patience. He was pretty sure the topic wasn’t Dustin’s chore list.
The young man was the little brother Tucker had never had, and while there were enough years between them that he’d spent more time quasi-babysitting than having deep heart to hearts, he also knew what it had been like growing up in the Stone family.
Hell, Walter Stone had been the one to explain the birds and bees to Tucker, his own dad having zero interest in answering those types of questions.
No—scratch that. Deb Stone had gotten in the first round of information, much to Luke and Tucker’s youthful embarrassment. His summertime mom had discussed the logistics of the deed in clear black and white. She’d not only told them most women needed clitoral stimulation to climax, she’d told them to watch women-friendly porn if they needed tips.
God, Tucker could still hear her voice, and his cheeks heated at the memory.
Sex with the right person is fun, but it comes with lots of responsibilities. If you’re both enjoying yourself, then you’re doing it right. If you can’t figure out how to make sure she’s happy first, stick to using your hand.