Page 25 of Hello Tease

I looked at Liv to see what she thought, but I noticed a slight frown before she tugged her lips into a smile. “That’s great, Lark.”

My eyebrows drew together. “Oh no. Is he not a good guy? I thought y’all gave me the go-ahead earlier.”

“No, he’s great.” Liv rubbed her neck. “I guess I got my hopes up that you and Knox would have a thing. I got ahead of myself.”

The mention of Knox had my cheeks heating. Especially since they had all noticed me looking forward to each of his text messages all night. “Knox is my neighbor,” I reminded all of us.

“And? Easy access,” Liv replied.

Della nearly spit out her drink, and Henrietta chuckled.

I shook my head. “The kids love him. I’m not going to mess that up.”

Liv replied in a sing-song voice, “Been there before.”

“What?” I asked.

She told me that she was Fletcher’s full-time, live-in nanny for all of a summer before they decided they couldn’t deny their feelings anymore. They’d been married for two years now.

“So Maya...” I asked.

“Is my stepdaughter,” Liv said.

“You two seem so close,” I replied.

There was a soft smile on Liv’s lips as she said, “As far as I’m concerned, she is my daughter. She just has two moms. But I’m excited for you. Bennett’s a great guy. You two will have a good time.”

I gave a tentative smile. “I hope so.”

The four of us didn’t stay out too late, which I appreciated because no matter what time the kids went to bed, they always woke up at the same time every morning.

When we pulled up along the street in front of mine and Knox’s homes, I noticed just the porch and kitchen lights on at Knox’s place.

“So what did you think?” Liv asked. “Was girls’ night a success?”

I took my gaze off Knox’s place and smiled over at her. “Honestly, I think it’s just what I needed. Thank you so much for including me. You’re great, and your friends are so fun. I hope we can do it again sometime.”

“Heck yes,” Liv said. “You fit right in, too. We’ll plan something soon!”

I hoped she meant it because as we got out of the truck, I realized there was so much I’d been missing during my marriage to Seth. Romance. Friends. Fun. A true partnership. And even though I moved to Cottonwood Falls to pick up the pieces of my life, it felt like I was finding pieces of myself too.

We reached the front door, and Liv let us in. The place was quiet, save for the two men sitting at the kitchen table with a stack of cards between them.

Fletcher and Knox both smiled at us, and something in my chest clenched. I hadn’t realized how much I missed someone smiling at me when I got home. They got up from the table, and Fletcher immediately took Liv in his arms, kissing her lips.

“How was it?” he asked.

Liv sent me a wink. “We had a great time. Got up to all sorts of trouble.”

“Oh really?” Knox asked.

“Nothing we can say in front of a police officer,” I teased.

He chuckled, the sound warming my chest. “I’m off duty.”

Glancing at the table, I asked, “What are you two playing?”

Fletcher cleared his throat but still spoke too softly for us to hear.

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