Page 96 of A Real Goode Time

I couldn’t.

Selfishly, I couldn’t.

And unselfishly, I couldn’t take that from Torie, even if she was offering it willingly. I couldn’t just get up and then leave.

Something told me if she made that move tonight and I said no, though…she’d be upset. Hurt. Maybe angry.

But I had no other choice.

I had to.

For both of us.

Somehow the girlmade jeans and a T-shirt erotic. Maybe it was just me, and the way I saw her, but it was just sinful the way she filled out the jeans, what she did to a plain blue V-neck with pockets over each breast.

Her chunky boots were left open and mostly unlaced, the cuffs of her jeans loosely tucked into the openings. Her hair was done in twin braids, one hanging over each shoulder, and the very ends of each braid twisting and curling up. A little pink on her lips, some dark over her eyelids. Just her, natural. Her scent. Her lovely face. Her perfect body.

And our first real date.

We drove with her mom, and ended up at a place on the waterfront, parking in a private lot near a bar called Badd’s Bar and Grille, which faced the water. Bobbing in the channel was a huge yacht, a truly massive thing, what I think they called a mega-yacht.

I whistled. “Damn, that’s a big boat.”

Liv laughed. “It belongs to Xavier and Harlow. That’s actually where tonight’s festivities are happening.”

“What? On that giant boat?” I asked, suddenly feeling a little out of my depth.

“Yeah.” She was breezy. “It’ll be a great time.” She glanced at me, and Liv’s observant gaze caught my nerves. “Rhys, they’re all just people. It’ll be fine.”

I laughed. “I’m just…I’ve never been on or in anything that expensive. That’s worth, like, literally more than everything everyone in my entire hometown has ever and will ever own put together.”

“And yet, it’s still just a boat. Goes on the water. Runs on fuel. Has toilets where people poop and beds where people screw.”

Torie snorted. “Ohmygod, Mom. Really?”

Liv just laughed. “Would it help or make things worse for you to know that there will be at least two famous people on the boat tonight?”

I sighed. “Torie has mentioned that this whole wedding is for Lexie and Myles, as in Myles North.”

“Right.” Liv gestured at the boat as we walked along the dock toward it. “And that boat belongs to Harlow Grace.”

“Harlow…” I let out a breath. “Harlow Grace? Shit.”

Torie eyed me. “What?”

“The first time I saw her inFinding DiamondI was, like, gone for her. Huge crush. I mean, I’ve grown out of it since, but still. Harlow Grace, huh?”

“Around us, she’s just Low.” Liv eyed me. “And you know that my…well, I think of them as nephews, even though they’re nephews-in-law, and even then Lucas and I aren’t married, but still, they’re my nephews. Canaan and Corin, and their wives Aerie and Tate, they’re all musicians, and successful ones at that. Canaan and Corin were in a band called Bishop’s Pawn, and now Canaan and Aerie tour together as Canary.”

I nodded. “Heard of all of them. I was a fan of Bishop’s Pawn, but I’m typically more of a classic rock guy. It’s the one kind of music you can put on in a shop that just about no one will ever complain about.”

“What kind of shop?” Liv asked.

“Auto. I repair and rebuild big block engines.”

“And Rhys restores cars, and builds houses, and is getting his realtor license,” Torie put in. “He’s being modest.”

Liv smiled at me. “Well, you’ll fit right in. We have builders, realtors, designers, marketers, computer hackers, musicians, painters, photographers, bartenders and bar owners…let’s see, what else? Pilots, ex-Navy SEALs, ex-football players turned personal trainers. Someone in the family can do just about everything. And oh, don’t forget Xavier, our resident robotics genius inventor.”