“I told you they were here,” Sebastian chimed.
Libby surveyed the group. Penny and Charlotte were here with their plus twos, Rowen, Mitch, and of course, the kids, but Harper didn’t seem to be with them.
“Can I go get a hot dog?” Sebastian asked.
“I’ll take care of this,” Phoebe announced, taking Sebastian by one hand and Oscar with the other. “I’ll make sure the boys eat.”
“And how many hot dogs have you had, Phoebe?” Rowen asked, raising his eyebrow skeptically.
“Not enough to vomit,” she replied, hauling the boys toward the tent.
“We’ll drive home with the windows open,” Penny said gently, patting her fiancé on the back as he held his head in his hands.
“Are you okay, Libbs?” Charlotte asked. “Sebastian mentioned you and Plum were having some trouble slowing down.”
“I’m fine. Plum loves to chase butterflies. She got caught up in the moment chasing one. That’s all, but we’re both safe and sound,” she answered, chancing a look at Raz. A muscle ticked in his cheek. The runaway donkey episode scared him more than he was letting on.
“Are you sure it wasn’t Raz’s face that scared the donkey?” Mitch commented with his signature Mitch smirk in place.
Raz puffed up. “Don’t you start, you cheese toastie eating wanker.”
“Mitch has a point,” Rowen added with his own nerdy grin in place. “I don’t know how Libby can stand to train you every day. And what’s that about?” the man asked, gesturing to Raz’s mud-speckled legs.
And just like that, Raz’s darkened aura lightened.
“It’s called training, and it’s something you can’t do with your arse in a chair, staring at bits and bobs floating around on a screen,” Raz tossed back, loosening up as she felt his energy shift.
Yep, thanks to Rowen and Mitch, Raz was coming back from a dark place.
Rowen stared at the boxer, then studied the donkey corral. He tapped Penny’s shoulder. “I have an idea for a new video game.”
Penn gasped. As the head video narrative writer at Gale Gaming, the nerd spoke her love language. “What is it, honey?”
“Erasmus Cress, Donkey Boxer,” Rowen announced.
For a beat, no one said a word until Raz doubled over, laughing as he waved off Rowen.
“That would be a hell no, mate! Not a chance of that happening. Donkey Boxer? What’ll it be? Donkeys, standing on their hind legs with boxing gloves?”
“Now that’s a terrific idea,” Penny beamed, pulling a notepad from her bag and jotting down the idea.
“I was kidding,” Raz stammered, looking positively dumbstruck, but Penny and Rowen pushed on.
“I could definitely write a compelling story about a donkey, and maybe Harper could help with the music—Landon, too,” Penny exclaimed, scribbling away.
“Babe, type the notes on your phone. Then I can see them,” Rowen suggested, eyeing the pad as if Penny were writing on a stone slab.
“Sometimes, my brain requires paper and pen,” Penn replied, chewing her bottom lip as she continued with her notes.
Libby chuckled. She loved seeing her friends in their new love-filled lives, but thoughts of Penny and Rowen evaporated when Raz touched her arm and moved in closer.
“Are they serious? Donkey boxing?” he asked under his breath.
“Who knows,” she answered, grateful to get the words out. With Raz’s hand at her elbow, every cell in her body screamed for her to lean into him like they did when the house was quiet, and it was just the two of them.
“Where’s your friend with the mouth and snappy comebacks?” Raz asked, glancing around the square. “I’m sure she’d have something to say about donkey boxing.”
Libby surveyed the square. “Yeah, where is Harper?”
“I’ve been texting her. We invited her up, but she never responded,” Char replied.
Penny dropped her pad into her tote and nodded. “It’s like pulling teeth to get her on the phone these days. I’m not sure what’s going on.”
“Is it her grandma?” Libby asked.
“I texted her asking just that last week. She said her grandmother was doing as well as could be expected. But that was the last time she responded,” Char answered.
Mitch wrapped his arm around Charlotte’s shoulders. “It’s been the same with Landon. I even checked to see if there was a boy band former teen heartthrob event happening in the city. But I came up with nothing. I don’t know what’s up with the guy.”
“He hasn’t responded to my calls either,” Rowen added. “So, I made a bot that scanned every Landon Paige fan club page to see if there was a recent sighting.”
“You made a bot searching for Landon Paige?” Mitch asked, raising an eyebrow.
Rowen cocked his head to the side and stared at Mitch. “Yeah, how else do you find things?”
“I’m just saying, that’s a lot of effort,” Mitch replied.
A smug grin graced Rowen’s face. “How long did it take you to search the internet and read a few posts?”
Mitch shrugged. “I don’t know. Twenty minutes. I might have spent ten of that reading about Landon’s hit records. The guy’s had major success in pop music. Not my thing, but people seem to love him.”
Rowen adjusted his glasses. “It took me five minutes and nineteen seconds to scour three point two million sites. And while the bot was deployed, I read a fascinating article about Landon’s record sales. Years ago, the guy was considered the top pop heartthrob in Eastern Europe and Italy—they love him there.”
“Bullshit,” Mitch blurted.
Rowen pulled out his phone, tapped the screen, presenting the results.
“Landon Paige Eastern European and Italian Pop Heartthrob,” Mitch read. “Huh, who knew?”
Penny crossed her arms and pegged Char with her gaze. “I’d say my nerd wins the Landon Paige search competition.”
Charlotte copied the movement and lifted her chin. “I disagree. It’s about effort, and Mitch spent twenty minutes researching because he cares about his friend.”
“You may be pushing the whole friend part, babe,” Mitch uttered.
“I have to respectfully disagree with you, Char,” Penny tossed back, ignoring Mitch. “It’s about efficiency, and Rowen got it done, quick and dirty.”
“Mitch likes to savor the experience,” Charlotte countered with a sly grin.
Okay, that got naughty fast.
Libby met Raz’s gaze, and he leaned in toward her. “They’re talking about…”
“Yep, knocking boots,” she whispered back, stifling a giggle.
“Yeah, I can’t let my mind go there,” he whispered. “I’ll take care of this, plum,” he added, giving her that sweet, boyish smile.
She looked on as the man sauntered over to stand between the dueling women.
“Okay,” Raz said, eyeing Penny and Charlotte. “I genuinely like you, ladies. You’ve got fight in you, and I can respect that, but I can barely stomach your fiancés. These blokes are a bunch of wankers, and the thought of them…” Raz cleared his throat.