Page 52 of Raise Me Up

Scooping up my phone, I fire off a text to Hail.Have you been dishing about my life to Liam?

His response is quick, which means he’s clutching his phone in hopes that Z reaches out.Yeah, he’s been asking about you. He needs a friend. I’m about to be on tour again.

The wordfriendhas my pulse spiking.

Do friends do filthy things with each other?

Yeah. I’m not about to ask my brother that.

By some miracle, class goes without a hitch. I manage to keep my voice level and my eyes mostly off Beau as he bends and twists with a surprising amount of flexibility.

As people trickle out, Beau ends up in a conversation with Ryan. Can he go anywhere without making friends?

When Beau finally goes to put his equipment up, Ryan wanders over. “Another great class, Stasi.Sowho’s the boy toy?”

Hot blood rushes to my cheeks. “Um. He’s… a friend.”

“Oh, honey. He doesn’t look at you like you’re afriend.”

Beau decides it’s a good time to interrupt with an arm around my waist. “Nothing friendly about what I want to do with you.”

“Oh my god. I knew it.” Ryan breaks into a wide grin. “You two should come to brunch with the gang this morning.”

“Yeah. Love to,” Beau replies immediately, patting his stomach.

I throw him a look that earns me an expression of pure mischief.

“Great! We meet at Sunny’s at eleven. See you there.” Ryan waves and struts from the room.

My frown must indicate I need some sort of talking to because Beau holds up his hands in submission.

“Hey. He told me he’s been trying to invite you to brunch for weeks. He said you just put your head down and rush out of here like the place is haunted. It made me a little sad. And I’m severely hungry. Bad decision hungry.”

I rub at my brows. “I don’t know what to think about this right now.”

Beau brings me into his arms. “Then don’t think. Let’s just go have fun and fill up on mimosas.”

His words melt the tension in my body.

“Fine.” I sigh. “We can have breakfast.”

He drops a kiss to my temple. “Mind if I hop in your car? Ubered here.”

“Hijacking my class, bumming rides, forcing me to make friends…” I rant off, unable to stop my smile.

Beau scoops me up in his arms again, and I giggle. “Don’t forget coaxing you into a threesome.”

“Oh, yes. I’d nearly forgotten about that.”

“Maybe we need to refresh your memory.”

I break out of his hold with a breathy laugh. “We arenotgoing to make it to brunch with your new best friend if you keep doing that.”

“Hmm. Mimosas or sex. Hard decision.”

Smiling, I hold out my hand to him. “I’ll make it for you. Come on, trouble.”

It’s a perfectly acceptable day. The sun is out, but not quite angry. We’re shaded beneath a giant teal umbrella on the side patio of a trendy breakfast joint.