Page 116 of Hope After Loss

“Wine and dine? Don’t get your hopes up, girl. I bet he means beer and hot dogs,” Erin calls across the room.

“She hasn’t got a clue what I’m capable of,” he whispers.

“It’s not a good idea to mix business and pleasure,” I answer.

“You’re fired,” he quips.

“Oh, I didn’t see that one coming,” Jena mumbles.

“He’s bluffing. That farm has never run so smoothly,” Graham chimes.

“Whose side are you on?” Weston asks Graham.

“That’s a hard one. You’re my brother, and I’d love nothing more than for you to find a good woman, but there’s nothing more entertaining than watching you crash and burn.”

“I’m riding the same fence,” Langford adds.

Weston turns his gaze to them. “I was in both your corners with Taeli and Isley.”

“Were you? I seem to remember you being a pain in the ass,” Langford says.

“No, he was. Kind of,” Isley defends.

“See,” Weston says, and he blows a kiss at his sister-in-law.

“I don’t know. I think you need to make him beg,” Maxi states.

Weston’s head whips to her. “Beg?”

She shrugs. “Yeah, you’re a little too cocky for my taste. I think eating a little humble pie would be good for you.”

“You’re an evil woman.”

“Yeah, begging sounds like a great idea,” Erin goads.

“Fine.”

He turns to me and takes both my hands in his. “Anna Kunder, would you do me the great honor of allowing me to take you to dinner? I promise it will be somewhere fancy with cloth napkins and ridiculously expensive bottles of wine.”

“Stop,” I mutter under my breath.

“Please?”

“Okay, even I have to admit, that was good,” Maxi states.

“Right? Did you steal that line from a movie?” Erin asks.

I bite my bottom lip, trying to stifle a laugh as he turns and growls at them.

“No. That one was all me.”

“Say yes,” Ansley encourages.

Amused, I drift my eyes past her, and they fall on Corbin. He’s quietly sipping his beer beside Maxi. When he catches my gaze, he inclines his head.

Maxi watches the two of us and lightly nudges Corbin’s side.

He turns and smiles at her. Then, his eyes return to me, and he winks.