Page 55 of The Exception

“What did we need to talk about? Is that rash back?” she joked, hoping she could use his afternoon buzz against him to maneuver around this line of questioning.

He put down the plate he was carrying and pretended to rub his back against her. “It’s back and it’s worse.”

“Get away from me, you heathen. You’re gross.”

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and squeezed, trapping her. “So what’s really going on here with your impromptu guest?”

“I brought a friend. That’s it.”

“Liar.”

She huffed a sigh. “You’re a bigger pain than your wife.”

“Don’t flatter me.” He rested his chin on the top of her head. “He’s cool. Josh and Dylan and I like him.”

She smiled down at her cutting board. She’d expected as much—Trav was easy to like and so were the rest of them—but she couldn’t deny it made her feel some sort of way. Trav had been outside “prepping the grill” and hanging with the guys like they were old friends. Marcus had known them for years and he’d never been this at ease with any of them.

Maybe because Dani insisted on pretending she couldn’t remember his name whenever he came back from a long trip. Or because Adam made a point to tell stories from college whenever they would double date, asking Marcus if he remembered them even though they hadn’t met until grad school. Marcus never figured out that her friends’ love language was teasing and joking. All he had to do was give it back to them, but he was always so serious. He wore a dress shirt and khakis to his first pool party at Dylan’s!

What a feat to manage to be the uptight one in a relationship with her, she thought. She pictured Trav’s t-shirt and unstyled hair, her mind placing him and Marcus side by side. She laughed at the comparison. Which was probably the wrong comparison to be making after the kiss she was supposed to be forgetting.

“I’m glad you’re getting along,” she said to Adam. “He’s a goodfriend.”

Adam laughed. “Yeah, okay. I’ll ask again at the end of this trip.”

She hushed him with an elbow to his side when the rest of the guys came inside. The last thing she needed was for Trav orDylanto hear Adam’s teasing and take it seriously.

Josh went to help Cat with the baby, while Adam pulled the tray of marinated steaks from the fridge.

“Hey,” Trav said, sidling up to her at the island.

Adam gave her a look and her cheeks burned. “Hi. Are you having fun?”

“I am.”

“Don’t forget to leave room on the grill for the cake,” Emma reminded Adam.

Adam winked at her. “I’d never forget to leave room for my favorite dessert.”

Sonya shook her head and kept slicing strawberries to marinate in bourbon and serve with whipped cream over warm slices of grilled pound cake. Adam and Emma loved it, so when Emma requested it, she couldn’t refuse even though it meant spending some of her first vacation day baking.

“Thank you, baby,” Emma cooed, before planting a kiss on Adam’s cheek before sending him off to the deck to grill.

Dylan grabbed beers from the fridge, handing one to Trav and Josh. “Everything smells good in here. What’re y’all making?”

“Cat made roasted street corn, and there’s Em’s tomato salad. Sonya made her pound cake for dessert,” Dani explained, while reaching for a sip of Dylan’s beer. He pretended to hold it out of her reach before handing it to her and getting himself another.

Sonya watched them play. Dani and Dylan’s casual affection never failed to surprise her after they’d spent so long as friends who did more bickering than friending. It made her think of all the time she and Marcus spent getting along perfectly well only to end up like this.

She was suddenly hyper-aware of everyone else’s relationship dynamics. Between Emma and Adam’s constant flirting, and the fact that Cat and Josh were lost in a private conversation in the corner of the kitchen, she was extra glad to not be the only single one here.

Trav leaned casually on the counter, grinning. If he was uncomfortable being surrounded by couples, he didn’t show it. “What did you make, Dani?” he asked.

Cat snickered, passing Lucia to Josh. “Dani doesn’t cook. She and Dylan are singlehandedly stimulating the D.C. economy by eating out almost every night.”

Dani shrugged. “What can I say? I’m committed to supporting local businesses.”

Sonya barely noticed Trav lean across the island until he swiped one of the strawberries from the bowl. When she looked up, he was giving her a cheeky grin. He tried to steal another one but she slapped his hand away.

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