Page 90 of Just A Little Magic

“I am, maybe? I think they are cute,” Jakob said, looking at Rory’s slack jaw expression. “What? They are cute in the field.”

“Pretty sure this was a one-and-done for me. Next time, I’ll sign up for the wagon ride,” I said with a decisive nod.

Every muscle in my body ached. Even muscles I never knew existed hurt. Really, I just wanted to go home and let Bear make me feel better.

After we finished our round-robin of complaints about how much we hurt, our breakfast was ready. Thankfully, the pancakes and bacon, plus a few pots of coffee, helped us move on. Unlike the others, I didn’t have all morning to chat around the table. I’d made arrangements to meet Tye over at the lodge and do a walkthrough. The rest of them were going to head back to town so they could get ready for the Halloween party at Wilde Dandies.

“All right, I’m going to turn in my keys and head to the lodge to meet Tye.”

“You know,” Jakob said with his chin propped up on this hand, “fixing the auction was one of our better moves.”

Uh, what?

“I know, right? It was genius. When you and Barrett are old and gray, you can thank us.”

“You fixed the auction?” My gaze darted between both of them. “How was that?”

“Oh, we had the bids and told Barrett he’d have to pay triple the highest bid if he wanted to be the top bidder.” The guys high-fived each other and were completely oblivious to my reaction to their news.

“Anders, did you know about this?”

“I knew they intended to offer their plan to Barrett, and I told them it was a bad idea because you are a very private person. If a move was to be made, it should have come from you, and that’s why I didn’t go to the lunch with them.”

Anders shot a look at Rory and Jakob. It had started to settle in on them that I wasn’t happy with their meddling.

“Did you ask if I wanted that?”

“Well, I mean…” Jakob glanced helplessly at Rory. “You two are obviously meant for each other. We’ve been shipping you since we met.” It had finally sunk in that I was unhappy with both of them.

“Did I ask you to do that?”

“Is this about the auction?” Rory asked.

“This is about the fact that you two decided you knew what was best for me. It’s not okay. And, no, it doesn’t matter that it worked out. Honestly, yes, it’s a little bit about the auction. Do you know how proud I was?”

The boys shook their heads.

“Well, I was. And now it’s nothing to be proud of because it was just a purchased date. I thought he outbid someone who really did want my designs. It’s absolutely nothing to be proud of. I do love Barrett, but no one, him or you, gets to manipulate my life. I won’t stand for it.”

I stood from the table. Absolutely, I was angry at all of them, a lot less at Anders, but I still had a job to complete.

“I’m going to ask that you don’t mention this to Barrett. At the very least, I should get to tell him about being pissed on my own terms.”

In the middle of my attempted grand exit, my phone buzzed.

Quinn

Hey, Owen. Tye has to cancel this morning. We’ll reach out to reschedule. Sorry for the late notice.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

BARRETT

“Why the hell did we agree to help you?” Gabe asked from his spot on the floor where he was in charge of putting together the adult-sized crib.

“You’re a fucking architect. How hard can it be?” It damn sure wasn’t as hard as designing buildings. “Is it the wrench? Do you know not know how to use it. I‘m sure Reed or I can demonstrate.”

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