He patted her butt one last time after she let go. “Yes indeed, you are.”

They headed out of the Seattle Center and just a few blocks away to meet everyone for dinner. The sidewalks were a crush, people heading to a show at Bumbershoot, or from there to one of the many bars and restaurants within an easy walk.

Add the normal hustle of Lower Queen Anne and Carmella had to yank Duke’s hand once already so he would slow down. Finally, he stopped, pulling them off the sidewalk and into a parking lot.

“I’m so sorry, gorgeous.” He pulled her hat off and kissed her. “My only defense is that I’m not used to walking hand in hand with anyone.”

Charmed, she rolled her eyes. “And the women you were with before me were all tall so they could keep up.”

“No call to say such a thing, now, is there?”

“Bring yourself down here, Duke.” Carmella tried to look stern but ended up laughing before she could grab his beard.

So she settled for another kiss and ran her fingers through his hair. Which was actually not anything close to settling.

“The truth of the matter is,” he said against her lips, “nothing I’ve done before was like you and me.”

He was so good at being affectionate. It was easy for him to be open with her. She owed it to him to return that, but it wasn’t easy for her. And while it was nice that he felt this way and said these things, really nice actually, it still made her feel inadequate in some sense because it also terrified her.

“Come on then. Let’s eat. I’ll pay more attention.” He gave her forehead a last kiss and plopped the hat back into place. She most likely had the worst case of hat hair ever and it didn’t even matter.

After a really big dinner, they headed back to catch a show. Waxahatchee was one of her recent discoveries, and Carmella loved that straightforward rock and roll fronted by a woman.

Duke was right behind her, the heat of him at her back. He kept people away from her, which was nice and also meant he was getting used to running interference for her.

One of his hands rested on her shoulder. It was possessive, definitely. And at first it had made her wary. But if she was being totally honest, by that point in their relationship, she really liked it. Especially because people got the message that he wasn’t available.

Honestly, the thing about that day that hadn’t been fun was the stunning number of times a beautiful woman saw Duke, her face lit up, and she had to hug him. Had. To.

It made Carmella grumpy. She hated jealousy. It was useless. But it didn’t matter because she felt it anyway. It made her self-conscious too.

It wasn’t as if he did anything to invite it. Or that anyone had been overly friendly and insulting to her. He always introduced her right away. Said she was his girlfriend to everyone.

It filled her with pride. Like, Oh yes, look at him. He’s mine.

Which was dumb. She knew it. But she couldn’t stop that smug little warm spot inside when people looked at him.

It was late by the time the show ended, but naturally Mick was ready for more.

“Let’s go play some pool,” Mick said. “First round’s on me.”

PJ stood next to Carmella as they watched Asa, Duke, and Mick plan the rest of the evening.

“They make me feel really old and I’m the youngest of everyone,” PJ said.

“Where does all their energy come from?” Carmella asked. She knew when they got back home, Duke would want to fuck. Not that she’d argue. She wanted to fuck right then.

“Your guess is as good as mine. I have no idea.” PJ linked her arm with Carmella’s as Mick tossed a coin to choose between this or that bar. “Looks like we’re going to play some pool.”

Duke turned to her with a grin. “Are you up for some pool or do you want to go home?”

At least he’d asked. A lot of people would have assumed. Though she wondered if he was sick of her yet. They worked together, and now that they were dating, they saw each other pretty much every night and weekend too.

She wasn’t sick of him by any stretch.

“Sure. I haven’t played since high school, but I’m happy to watch you bend over things.”

“What a coincidence. I like to watch you bend over things too,” he said quietly into her ear.

You could be seeing it if we went home right now.

Instead, they all headed out to a bar that rode the real dive line, but was still barely on the not quite line. In cases like these, being with men the size of the ones she was worked out pretty well.

She and PJ stood across the room at the jukebox as the guys grabbed a pool table and some beer.

“How is it they can drink all that beer and eat all that food and they’re still so freaking gorgeous? Like, Duke has no fat on him. How is that? If I ate and drink the way they did, I’d never want to stop napping.” Carmella flipped through the music selection.

“Right? And they do all the things you’re not supposed to! Truth be told, fat wouldn’t dare live on Asa’s body.”

Carmella laughed. “Is fat scared of him too?”

“Probably.” The two women laughed. PJ slung an arm around Carmella’s shoulders. “God, I’m so glad you’re around.”

Carmella felt much the same way. She wasn’t sure what she’d have done without PJ’s advice. She had no idea how to manage this relationship thing. Her marriage most definitely counted as a don’t. But some dos were nice too and PJ was so open and helpful.