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“Is that the real reason you’re back?” Langston asks.
“Yep. But I did want to see you two love birds too. Even if you are completely nauseating.”
“So it’s not just me then?” Ronnie throws his hands up in the air.
Dolores comes back with drinks and refills, and Brensen and I start brainstorming how the nonprofit might work. “I’ve worked with several nonprofits while I’ve been over there. Dad is cutting off my trust money unless I agree to work for the company. So I ran out of options. If I want to make a difference, I’m going to need access to my money.”
“It’s always been a requirement that we work for him to get the entirety of our trust money. Having the family running this business is very important to him,” Langston explains.
“So does this mean you’re back for good?” I ask.
“I’ll still be able to travel to Kenya to check on things, but yes. I’ve moved back, and I’m currently living with Mom and Dad until I can get my own place in town. Which should be soon. Mom is already pressuring me to ask a few of her friends’ daughters out, and I need a bit of my own space.
Langston laughs. “There is definitely is a plus side to having a girlfriend. You get Mom off your back.”
“Not really. She’s going to pressure you about when you plan to pop the question now.”
Langston grins. “I’m fully aware of it. Mom and I have already had that conversation. I’ve learned that if you keep her in the loop, she gets off your back pretty quickly. She just wants to see that progress is being made.”
“You make her sound like quite the taskmaster,” I tease.
“You have no idea,” Langston drawls.
Ronnie quirks a brow. “I’m pretty sure she does.”
“That’s a good point. Jenni has been around for everything.” He catches my gaze and reaches under the table to take my hand. “And she’s not going anywhere if I have anything to say about it.”
“You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried,” I say.
“Well, I’ll never try, so this is a pointless conversation.”
“They really are nauseating,” Brensen tells Ronnie.
“Sounds like you’re next.” Ronnie eyes Brensen. “Unless you have a woman you’ve been keeping a secret.”
Brensen shakes his head. “It’s nothing like that. She’s just a friend.”
“Ohhh. So there is someone,” Langston exclaims. “I knew it! You’re way too much of a stud to not have a girl after you.”
“That’s the thing. She’s not after me at all. We’re just friends,” Brensen tells us.
“Ouch. Friend zoned!” Ronnie crows. “Sounds like what Amanda did to me.”
“Oh yeah, you were into Amanda,” Brensen says. “Wouldn’t it be weird if you ended up with her and then became Hayden’s stepdad?”
“Yeah, I realize that now. But Amanda isn’t interested anyway. She never was.”
“Weren’t you and Langston fighting over her for years?” Brensen wants to know.
“That’s all resolved now,” Langston explains. “No need to bring it up again.”
“It sounds like you two have done some growing up since I talked to you last.”
Langston laughs. “That’s an understatement. For me, at least. I’ve had to take a crash course on parenting. And not just any kid either. One that has a multitude of issues to sort out.”
“But it’s nothing that you can’t work through,” I say, taking his arm and wrapping my arm around it. “You just have to take it one day at a time. You’ll get there.”
Langston looks down into my eyes. “Thank you, babe. That means a lot.”