Page 30 of Whiskey & Wreckage

Nash gives me a look when she walks over to grab another drink. The kind that says,you idiot, don’t let her go.I ignore him.

Maya shows up with her boyfriend. She’s loud in the best way and instantly ropes Poppy into some conversation about datingapps and bad exes. I hear her laughing from across the yard, holding her own like she’s always been one of us.

“She’s got you smiling,” Maya tells me at one point, nudging my arm.

“Is that so?”

She nods, serious. “Don’t screw it up, boss man.”

Noted.

As the sun dips low and the food disappears, I can feel something shift. There’s this quiet between us, not uncomfortable, just full. Like we’re settling into something neither of us is ready to name yet.

I catch her watching me once, and she doesn’t look away. She just smiles. And I realize I’m in real danger here. Not the kind I’m trained for, but the kind that changes everything.

By nine, the last of my people trickle out with leftovers and lazy waves. Laughter still hangs in the air, the faint scent of grilled ribs clinging to the breeze. It was a good day. The kind that leaves you full in more ways than one.

Poppy’s in the kitchen, standing at my sink like she belongs there. Music plays low from the speaker, and she stands there barefoot, humming under her breath, as she rinses a plate and stacks it in the drying rack.

It shouldn’t hit me like this. So damn domestic. But it does. I walk up behind her, slow and quiet. She doesn’t hear me until I’m close enough to touch.

I reach out, gently brushing her hair over her shoulder. She shivers a little when I press my lips to that spot just below her ear, right where her neck curves into her shoulder.

“You shouldn’t be doing those,” I murmur against her skin.

She exhales a little laugh, but it stutters. “It’s just dishes.”

“Doesn’t matter,” I say, hand resting lightly on her hip now. “You’ve done enough today.”

“So did you,” she counters, trying to keep it light. But I feel the way her breath hitches when I kiss her again, just a little lower this time.

“Yeah, but I liked doing it.” My voice is lower now, rougher. “I like… this. You. Here.”

Her hands pause in the water. She turns her head slightly, giving me a sidelong glance that’s equal parts soft and skeptical. “What, you mean the part where I completely charmed all your coworkers and kicked Nash’s ass at cornhole?”

I grin against her neck. “That too.”

I wrap my arms around her from behind, pulling her gently back into me. She fits like she was built for it, warm, sweet, still a little buzzed from the beer and the attention. My girl was glowing today. She didn’t even realize it.

“I mean it,” I say into her hair. “This… feels right.”

She leans back into me. “Yeah, it does.”

I press another kiss to her neck, slower this time, lingering. She melts a little in my arms, and I feel it. The way her body relaxes into mine. The way her head tilts just enough to let me in. I could stay here forever. But I don’t want to just stand behind her like I’m scared to ask for more.

So I slide one arm under her legs and the other behind her back, and before she can say anything, I lift her clean off her feet.

She squeals. “Thomas!”

“You’ve been on your feet all day,” I say, heading for the couch. “Time to let me take care of you.”

“You already grilled ribs, fetched drinks, and killed it in cornhole. I think you’ve done your manly duties for the day.”

I smirk. “I’m just getting started.”

I set her down gently on the couch and grab the remote. Bear’s curled up on his massive dog bed nearby, snoring like a tractor. I flick on some mindless show, something with a lot of dramatic voiceovers and very little plot. Background noise.Something to keep the silence from getting too loud, but not enough to distract me from the woman in my arms.

Poppy nestles into my side, her legs over mine, her head on my chest like it’s always belonged there. She smells like beer and vanilla and sunshine. I run my hand up and down her arm, slow and steady, until her fingers find the hem of my shirt and start tracing tiny circles there.

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