Page 71 of Hand Picked
“Oh, yeah,” I said in a strangled voice. “I’m great.”
And I was. Not just because my mom was coming and I’d missed her, not just because I’d somehow landed in the middle of a town that cared so much, but because when Webb’s arms were around me, I felt like I was actually living the fairy-tale adventure my mom had wanted for me… at least temporarily.
Now if I could just get some timealonewith the man so my poor cock could stop responding to the slightest whiff of Webb, I’d be perfectly happy. Thanks to my house, and his family, and my job, and his orchard, though we’d seen each other more than ever recently, we hadn’t had the chance to do more than kiss and a little handsy exploration.
And for a person who hadn’t had sex since moving to Vermont, suddenly going three weeks without seeing Webb naked and knowing we wouldn’t be interrupted in the span of ten minutes seemed incredibly difficult.
“So do you?” Aiden prompted. He picked up my wrist and looped the rope around it, frowning in concentration. “Because I think Knox and Gage are doing it wrong.”
“Doing what wrong?” Knox demanded from over by the food table. His hair and his sweatshirt were both covered in a fine layer of plaster dust.
“Being a boyfriend,” Aiden said matter-of-factly. “You could take lessons from my dad and Luke.”
Knox looked from Aiden to me, then settled his gaze on Webb and lifted one eyebrow mockingly. “Is that so, Webb? You offering boyfriend lessons now?Interesting.”
Webb flushed. “No. I didn’t say—”
“What do you think, Goodman?” Knox interrupted. “Do we need Webb to show us how it’s done? Oooh, maybe he could get Genevieve York-Muller out here for a Very Special Episode of Hand-Fast Watch, where my brother shares some tips and tricks on boyfriending. Enlighten us poor idiots who’ve been half-assing it up to now. Tell me, kids, how many more handfasting requirements have you knocked off the list in the past three weeks? None?”
The answershouldhave been none, but I’d had an icy patch on my driveway, and when Webb had taken me to Ed’s Pippin Pickings to buy some salt on the Orchard discount, Ed had been so excited, he’d contacted the mayor immediately. He and Genevieve had stopped us in the parking lot for an impromptu Scroll-Ticking, where they marked off Part the Fourth.
But that hardly counted, and Knox knew it.
So far, the count stood atthreetasks completed. And that was plenty.
Gage laughed out loud. He offered Knox a bottle of cold water and grinned around the half a brownie he’d stuffed in his mouth. “I dunno, I think we do an okay job on our own, babe.” Then he looked down at Aiden’s handiwork. “Ooh, constrictor knot? The Nature Scout’s best friend? The purpose of it is to tie multiple things together. Like…” He handed Knox his half-eaten brownie, grabbed Webb’s wrist to place next to mine, and demonstrated the knot. “There you go. Practice on Luke.”
Knox’s eyes softened, the way I’d noticed they tended to whenever he looked at Gage… but especially when Gage was with Aiden. “You’re right. I have no complaints. Besides, Goodman and I won’t be boyfriends for long.” He waggled his eyebrows.
Aiden’s eyes widened. “You won’t?”
Gage blushed beet red. He snatched his brownie back and poked Knox in the solar plexus for good measure. “He means we’re going to get engaged eventually, bud, not that we’re breaking up. And stop teasing the thing like that, Knox Sunday. Either ask me or don’t. Jeez. You keep bringing it up and then… not doing it.” He ruffled Knox’s dirty hair with the hand that wasn’t holding a brownie, sending up a cloud of dust. “Put a ring on it.”
“Me? You’re the one who wanted to wait some arbitrary amount of time. You told me, ‘It’s okay, Knox. We’ve only been dating four months, there’s no rush.’ Then you said, ‘Half a year’s probably too fast still, right? Maybe… maybe after a year would be better.’”
“I said that to make myself feel better ’cause you were taking forever!” Gage spluttered. “I thought Sundays were supposed to be efficient.”
“Too late for explanations, Goodman,” Knox said sadly, but his eyes, which were almost as nice as Webb’s, danced. “I feel…rejected. And we Sundays are such delicate, sensitive creatures—”
Webb hooted in amusement, and I hid my grin in his biceps. Aiden was still perfecting the knot, and I had to admit to not minding being roped together for a minute.
“—that now I might just have to wait foryouto askme.” He pressed a smiling kiss to Gage’s lips, stole the remaining brownie from his hand, and sauntered off toward the house.
“Maybe I will!” Gage yelled after him. “Maybe I just will! And it’s going to be so epic, you won’t be able to say no! And then I’m gonna husband you so hard. And it’ll be all your fault.”
“Looking forward to it,” Knox called over his shoulder without turning.
Gage huffed out a breath but couldn’t stop the brilliant smile that spread over his face as he watched his man walk away. “See that, Aiden?” he demanded before walking off in the opposite direction. “That is ten out of ten boyfriending right there.”
I had to agree. And I barely stifled a longing sigh. What Webb and I had was so close to that. Except what they had was real, and I hadn’t gotten any signals from Webb so far that he was interested in anything more than temporary.
“Still no sign of your mom, huh, bud?” Webb asked when it was just the three of us.
I knew he was trying to say the words easily, like Amanda’s tardiness wasn’t ticking him off, but I could hear the annoyance simmering just below the surface.
Apparently, Aiden could, too, because he swallowed hard. “No. Not yet. But she didn’t forget, Dad,” he said firmly. “Tonight’s not just Scouts, it’s thecampout. I’m gonna get my rope-tying badge… I think.” He made a frustrated noise as he untied the rope around our wrists and started over. “And Mom was really excited. She said so. She said she never went tent camping before, and she was buying a new sleeping bag and everything. She’s coming.”
I nodded firmly. “She probably just forgot to comeearly. No big.”
