“Thanks for inviting Dean over,” he said, resting his hands on his hips.

The laugh I let out was all balled up nerves and dread and panic, and that must have been noticeable on my face because the older man burst out laughing.

“You just figured out you’re in for a world of shit tonight, huh?” Trip cackled out the statement.

Oh my God, I really cracked up that time, everything bubbling up inside of me. “I am, aren’t I?” I wheezed. “I’m scared to go in there. I really am.”

That only made him laugh harder.

“I’m just going to lock them in the room together and see what happens,” I joked, not knowing how else to cope but to make a joke so I wouldn’t cry. “Jace’s mom pretty much just kicked him out of the car and waved at me from the driver seat, and Kline’s mom came up to the door with him and burned rubber getting the hell out of here,” I told him.

“Jace and Kline are here?”

Oh God. “I messed up, didn’t I?”

“You got Benadryl?”

“Yeah….”

“I know me and Kline’s mom wouldn’t even be a little mad if you slipped ‘em some Benny later.” He could barely get the words out. “I’m just sayin’.”

What had I done? I should have asked for report cards and shit to approve the boys before they’d come over. Incident reports from other parents. Interviews. Something.

I groaned. Then I groaned a little more. I wasn’t going to cry this early in the evening. I wouldn’t.

Just messing around, I asked, “You got plans tonight? I have a few steaks in the fridge I was going to make for dinner tomorrow. I could be convinced to grill tonight…” I trailed off, half laughing as I said it.

One blue eye peered back at me, the corner of a grin caught high. “I was plannin’ on headin’ over to Mayhem since you’re keepin’ Dean tonight.” He pursed his lips together. “I could run to the store and get some beer and come back.”

Well shit. I hadn’t exactly expected him to take me seriously, but now that he wasn’t disagreeing… I eyed him a little, hoping he hadn’t gotten the wrong message from my invitation.

“As long as you promise you’re not gonna hit on me or anythin’.” He pretty much gurgled out in a laugh.

Goddammit. I couldn’t believe it. Dallas had told him. I threw my hands up as I leveled a glare at the blond. “Just friends, Jesus Christ. The little one is here, too. There will be supervision.”

“I’m fuckin’ with you, honey,” he chuckled. “Need anything from the store?”

I had already stocked up that morning since it had been my day off. “I’m good, thank you.”

Trip winked. “All right. I’ll be back then.”

I was beyond relieved to have someone else in the house with me while they were all over, even if that person was Trip. I gulped and turned to head back into my house as my new dinner buddy made his way toward his truck. Inside, the living room was empty, but I could hear a racket coming from Josh’s room. With Louie nowhere in sight, I peeked into his room and found him sprawled width-wise across his bed with his tablet in hand going at whatever game he was playing.

My guts went as far as to look into Josh’s room to find four boys in there. Josh had already asked me if we could move the Xbox into his room for the night, and I’d agreed. His other aunt had given him a small television for his last birthday, so if they broke anything, at least it would be his TV and not our forty-five inch. Before I got caught, I snuck back out and headed toward the kitchen.

I got as far as wrapping some potatoes in foil and seasoning the four steaks I’d bought the day before, with the intention of inviting my parents to dinner, when the doorbell rang. Through the peephole I found the back of Trip’s head on the other side, the phone he held to his face just barely visible.

“I told you where I’m at. Across the street. Diana has Dean.” Trip turned around in midconversation as the door creaked while I opened it. He held up the six-pack he’d run out to buy. “I just bought a six. Hold on.” He pulled the phone away from his face and asked, “You mind if Dallas comes over and has a beer?”

Huh. I shrugged and shook my head. We had made amends. Sort of. “Nope.” At least I had enough food. I’d planned on ordering Josh and his friends pizza later.

“Diana said to come over. She’s scared of Jace and Kline,” he told his cousin.

“Shut up,” I hissed at his exaggeration, earning me another wink.

“’Kay, later,” Trip finally said before getting off the phone. “He’s coming over.”

The words had barely come out of his mouth as the boys started yelling all together loud enough to be heard down the hall, “Kill him! Kill him! KILL HIM!”

And that was exactly how I found myself in a house with seven males on a Friday night.

* * *

“I told Ginny to come over,” I told the two men leaning against my kitchen counter, each cradling a bottle of the beer.

“She coming straight from the salon?”

I shook my head, flipping the steaks over with a fork. “No. She’s meeting up with Wheels for dinner and after that she said she’d come by.”

It was impossible to miss the slight sneer that came over the blond’s face, even though my attention wasn’t centered anywhere near him. I was too busy trying to coat the steaks in the oil evenly.

“You don’t like Wheels?” I asked him, referring to Ginny’s fiancé.

It was Dallas who let out a snicker in response that had me swinging my gaze over in his direction. He hadn’t said much since he’d showed up a few minutes ago, freshly showered and with a bottle of Jack in one hand and a cardboard container with four glass bottled Cokes in the other, which had me eyeing him, wondering if I’d been selling this man short all along. Oblivious to me checking out his excellent taste in sodas, all he’d said was, “Hi, Diana” and I’d said, “Hi, Dallas. Come in. Trip’s in the kitchen.” That was that.

We had just agreed to be friends—or at least friendly—so this should be no big deal. I didn’t want to make it weird, and I was glad he didn’t either. We could figure this out. Luckily, Trip talked enough to make up for any awkwardness there might be lingering between us.

So for Ginny’s fiancé to be the first thing he decided to comment on after Trip and I had argued about how to properly cook a steak, I was caught off guard. Then for him to shrug and be all casual about it, threw me off even more. “He’s all right….” Trip trailed off.

“You can’t tell me he’s all right and not tell me what you don’t like about him,” I said.

The two exchanged a look I wasn’t familiar with.

“Really? You’re not going to tell me?” I thought about it and straightened my spine, one sentence away from getting really angry. “Is it bad? Did he do something to Ginny?”

Trip hooted. “Not if he wants to keep livin’.”

Oh. “Then what is it?”

“Have you met him?”

“Yeah, a few times. He always seemed like a pretty good guy.”