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“Anyway,” I said, shaking my head. “I meant to ask if you’re ready.”

“Yup,” she said, reaching over to grab something she’d set on the little table by her door where she kept her keys.

When I saw what it was, I laughed. “I told you that you didn’t have to bring anything.”

“I know. But this peach crumble is really good. And it’s gluten free and nut free. Just in case.”

I snapped my fingers, remembering. “You know, Stace’s little brother has Celiac, and her brother’s boyfriend has a nut allergy, so that’s actually smart.”

Sophie beamed. “I figure it’s a good call to go as allergen free as you can when there’s a group.”

“You’re so smart. And kind.” I just had to kiss her while she held the baking dish between us. It wasn’t easy, but I didn’t care.

“Thank you,” she said. “Shall we go?”

“We shall,” I said and stepped aside so she could go down the stairs first.

The party was already going when we got there with cars parked up and down the driveway.

“Oh, that’s a lot of people,” Sophie said as I turned around and then found a spot.

“Hey,” I told her, reaching over to take her hand. “Why don’t we have a safe word? A word that you can say to me and if you say it, I’ll pretend to have some kind of emergency and we’ll leave.”

“A safe word?” she asked.

“Yeah, they’re not just for sex, in my opinion.”

Sophie nodded and looked down at the pan on her lap. “Peaches.”

“Peaches?” I asked.

“Yeah, peaches.” She blushed and I couldn’t stop myself from kissing her cheek before we got out and started walking toward the backyard where the party was in full swing. There were kids running around and jumping on a trampoline and adults congregating around tables of food and a few guys standing at the smoking grill. There were coolers overflowing with ice and drinks scattered on the grass.

I spotted Stace and Hunter and waved. Stace came right over, a huge smile on her face.

“Hey, good to see you.” She didn’t hug me, and I knew that was hard for her. Stace was a tactile, huggy person.

“This is Sophie,” I said, pointing to her.

“Hi,” she said, her voice bright. “I brought peach cobbler. It’s nut and gluten free.”

Stace beamed. “Wow, thank you so much. You didn’t have to, but this is going to make a few people happy. Let me take that for you.”

Sophie handed over the pan and Stace went to add it to one of the food tables.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Hunter.” Hunter could never shake her debutante rich-girl upbringing. She’d been taught manners from her old money family and even if she didn’t see them anymore, those habits ran deep.

Sophie shook Hunter’s hand and stared at her for a second. Hunter had that effect on people.

“There you are,” said a voice behind me and we turned to see Cade and Eloise.

“Sophie, this is my friend Cade and her girlfriend Eloise.” I’d warned Sophie ahead of time about meeting Eloise, but I could still feel her trembling beside me. I reached out and placed a hand on her lower back, making tiny circles the way she did when she was trying to calm me down. She leaned into my touch.

“So nice to meet you,” Sophie said, her voice shaky.

“Nice to meet you,” Cade said. “I’ve heard so much about you from Reid that I feel like we’ve already met.”

Cade’s smile was warm and open, and I could feel Sophie relaxing.