Page 36 of The Boyfriend Gamble

“I think your Felix might have a crush on you.”

“He’s notmyFelix.”

August and Julian exchanged a long look that I struggled to interpret.

Then August laid his hand on mine. “I think we need to have a serious talk.”

An hour later, I took off for home, even more confused than when I’d arrived.

Chapter Seven

Felix

Iglancedatmyco-workerNita, as we sat on the patio at Starbucks, and cocked my head.

She grinned. “What?”

“Huh. Your brother Kade is gay.”

“Duh.”

“Your best friend Tanner is gay.”

“Double duh.”

“But they’ve never dated?”

She shivered with a wince. “No. Although I love them both, some guys just aren’t meant to hook up, even if they might be compatible.”

“Compatible?”

“Don’t make me say it.”

“Oh.” Realization dawned. “So one likes—”

“Yes.”

“And the other prefers—”

“Oh my God, yes, and since I don’t want to think about my brother and gay sex, maybe we should move along to another topic?”

I laughed. “Nita, you brought it up.”

“Because you keep talking about your future brother-in-law, and I keep wondering if you get that.”

My laughter died. “He’s my contractor. At the moment, I’m spending more time with him than Josette. But that’s about to change. We’ve set a date for the wedding.”

Nita eyed me. “You know, we’ve worked together for quite some time now.”

“With Ben. I know. We all started about the same time.”

“And I’m a plainspoken woman.”

Duh, as she would say. “I appreciate that about you.” And I did. When I was struggling in my chosen vocation, I often turned to Ben and Nita because they’d give it to me plain. And they were both around my age. We were the youngest teachers in the school. The newest. The greenest.

She took a deep breath, sipped her iced coffee, and regarded me. “I’ve met someone. And I haven’t told anyone. Not even Tanner. Which is proving interesting since we share a house together. I mean, he knows I go out on dates with guys, but he doesn’t know who.”

“Okay. Would there be some objection?” I couldn’t fathom where she was going with this.

---