Page 115 of Ransom

"Completely wrong."

I tap my chin. "Although, as concerned family members..."

"We should make sure she's good enough for Ransom."

"Plus, what if she needs someone to talk to?"

"We're very friendly and really good listeners." Janey's eyes sparkle with mischief.

"The friendliest." I stand, offering her my hand. "It would be rude not to introduce ourselves properly."

"Downright negligent."

"Kade would want me to scope her out."

"Jonas specifically asked me to make sure she's nice."

We share a look, both fighting grins.

"We're going over there, aren't we?" Janey asks.

"Oh, absolutely." I loop my arm through hers. "For purely altruistic reasons."

"Of course. We're good people."

"The best people."

Janey clamps my arm to her side and tugs. "Hurry, before anyone notices where we're going. And ditch the coffee."

37

BLAIR

I'm buried deep under the hood of Mrs. Patterson's Camry when whispers drift across the garage floor. My wrench slips on the bolt I'm fighting with, and I bite back a curse and peek around the raised hood. Keeping my hands busy while Ransom’s whole family’s out there seemed like a good plan, but my focus is shit. Matt normally works Saturdays alone, since I’m the boss, and I don’t want to. But what else was I going to do while Ransom’s whole family is out there judging me? Think about all the things they’re saying about me?

Fuck no.

Two women hover just inside the doorway. The taller one catches my eye and breaks into a wide grin. "Don't worry, we're just hiding from our husbands."

I straighten up, wiping my hands on the shop rag. "You afraid of them or something?" Why the hell am I playing dumb? The crowd getting off that bus was a jumble, but I recognize these women. They're part of Ransom's family.

Dammit, I thought I'd be able to avoid them. New people are hard. I'm better than I used to be, but still, I get anxious.And anxious equals inappropriate or rude. Why can't I just be normal?

I mentally slap myself in the back of the head because I've mostly cut that kind of negative self-talk out. But sometimes, when it really matters, that shit starts up.

And this matters. Ransom matters a fuck of a lot. And now his family's here to judge me. And if they find me lacking, they're going to go back to him and convince him to leave and never look back.

Shit. I'm spiraling.

They exchange glances and burst into laughter. The shorter one with gentle eyes brushes her hair off her face. "Oh god no. They're the best guys ever."

"Jonas wouldn't hurt a fly," the taller one adds, then pauses. "Well, actually he would. But only if someone was threatening people he cares about."

"That's true for both of them." The shorter woman fidgets with her sleeve. "Though really, Becca's the one people need to watch out for. She's way more dangerous than either of our husbands."

"Only to bad guys," the tall one, Becca, clarifies with a wink. "I teach self-defense classes. Someone's gotta keep the riffraff in line."

I know exactly who she is. The first of the women. The one that likes to annoy Ransom. I'm kind of predisposed to like her already. "So if you're not hiding from dangerous husbands, what brings you to my garage?" Are they going to admit they're snooping?

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