Page 31 of Finding You

You could stay here…

Yeah, yeah, yeah. She’d thought about that too, but it felt like she was being lazy by settling in the first town she really stopped in. For all she knew, there was someplace out there that was ten times more fabulous than Sweetbriar Ridge.

Maybe.

Walking back into the living room, she curled up in the oversized chair in the corner of the room and smiled as the discussion was still going on. And as she got a little more comfortable, she realized she was feeling very good, very relaxed, and very happy.

It was a little after eleven and Devin was almost asleep on the couch when his phone rang. Fumbling for it, he sat up and said, “H’lo?”

“Your girl’s a lightweight.”

That had him sitting up straighter and clearing his throat. “Um…what?”

“It’s Billie, in case you didn’t know,” she said with amusement. “Anyway, MacKenzie’s asleep in one of my chairs and she was mumbling something about wanting to go home and we all thought she meant back to Syracuse, but then she said your name, so…”

Now he was on his feet and doing his best to wake up. “Okay, okay,” he said gruffly. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, and…”

“Devin, relax,” she told him. “I can tell I woke you up and I’m sorry about that. But we all drank tonight, otherwise one of us would drive her home.”

“How’s everyone else getting home?” Raking a hand through his hair, he went in search of his keys.

“Let’s just say you’re not the first call I’ve had to make, and Chloe’s crashing here. It’s all good.”

Yawning loudly, Devin shook his head to clear it. “Okay, cool. I’ll be there in a few minutes and thanks for looking out for everyone. You’re good people, Billie.”

“I can say the same for you, Dev.”

That made him smile. “I’ll see you in a few,” he said before hanging up.

Within minutes, he was out the door and in his truck. Billie only lived a few blocks away and they’d known each other for years, so getting to her house wasn’t a problem. Once he pulled into the driveway and walked up to the door, he ran into Leo James–Avery’s fiancé–practically carrying her out the door.

“Devin!” Avery cried. “You totally have to bring MacKenzie to the reunion this weekend! You have to!”

“Um…”

“C’mon, Avery,” Leo murmured. “Let’s get you home.”

With little more than a head nod and a murmured, “Hey”, Devin stood back and let them walk out before he tried to walk in.

“Hey, Devin,” Billie said before pointing to where MacKenzie was asleep in the corner. “She really didn’t drink that much. Maybe two glasses of wine. That’s why I said she’s a lightweight.”

“Well, to be fair, we get up really early to go to the shop, so…”

Billie yawned and nodded. “I’m not trying to be rude, but I’ve got to be up early too.”

“No problem.” And instead of trying to wake MacKenzie up, he simply lifted her up in his arms before looking back at Billie. “Her purse?”

She walked across the room and grabbed it before handing it to him. “Thanks for coming to get her.” She paused. “And for what it’s worth, she’s great. You should definitely see about bringing her to the reunion. I think she’d enjoy it.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to get into a discussion about it, but it was late and everyone was tired. Instead, he said, “Thanks, Billie. Have a good night.”

It wasn’t until he was next to the truck that he realized he was going to have to wake her. There was no way he could get her into the passenger seat and buckled without her help.

“Hey, MacKenzie,” he said softly. “Time to wake up.”

Luckily, she opened her eyes slowly and looked at him.

And immediately frowned.

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