it. Besides,” he continued, heading for the stairs himself, “she needs you guys.”
“She needs all of us,” I reminded him.
He paused at the top of the stairs with Coop and Jake not far behind. Meeting my gaze, Bubba nodded. “Yeah, she does. I’m just glad you guys saw it a hell a lot clearer than I did.”
I followed them, but slower. I was still the first one downstairs, and I gathered up the edibles and the wine. Tonight, we’d soak, eat, play, and laugh. That was what these two weeks were about.
The five of us finding a real rhythm and convincing Frankie that not only could we work, we would work.
Would I keep her to myself if given the chance? Hell yes. But this worked, too.
The fact that she strolled out in that barely there bikini for the second time without an ounce of her shyness from the first night? Win.
The smile on her face? Win.
The idiots splashing into the hot tub around us, making her laugh and smile?
Fuck it.
Win, too.
I took a bite of a cookie and stretched back after she took the glass of wine.
This was the kind of life we could all get used to.
If I had my way, we would.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Never Have I Ever
Frankie
“This is a terrible idea,” Coop said as he lined up the shots. A storm had blown in early in the morning with blizzard-like conditions and promised to make the roads hazardous, so our plans for sightseeing and shopping had been delayed for a day at the lodge. Archie sent a message to the staff to let them know we would fend for ourselves.
Fending for ourselves included video games, movies, books, and a crock pot with pot roast and all the fixings. It had all been prepped, I just got it started, but it would be ready for dinner. In the meanwhile, we had the most ridiculously piled high sandwiches for lunch and cereal for breakfast. We hadn’t even bothered to get dressed. A fire burned merrily in the fireplace, and I had put on fuzzy socks to keep my feet warm while I was dressed only in one of my new Torched t-shirts that hit me mid-thigh. I wanted an oversized one on purpose, so I’d gotten one that would fit Jake or Ian.
“Possibly,” Archie said, giving me a slow smile as I snagged one of the blankets. I hadn’t bothered with pants since it was just going to be us, but the sound of the wind made me cold. “But it could be fun, too.”
I snorted. “You just like playing with fire.”
“Yes,” Archie agreed with a wink. “I do. So do you.”
Also true. We were all sitting in the living room with the whiskey—wow, that crap was strong—bottle in the center of the table and five shot glasses filled and passed around to each of us. Ian and I had one sofa, Jake and Archie were on the opposite one, and Coop took the floor with his back to the fire. Between the isolation of the howling wind, the crackle of the fire, the twinkling of the lights, and the soft huffs of their laughter, it had been a fun way to spend the day.
“I still think strip poker would be more fun,” Jake argued. “Or we could do strip combat.”
“The only one we all want to see naked is Frankie, and she’s not playing,” Coop said with a shake of his head.
“Speak for yourself,” I told him. “You could all strip for me, and I wouldn’t complain.”
“Yeah?” Jake rose and Ian threw a pillow at him.
“Sit down.”
All of us laughed.
“Anyway,” Coop said, motioning to the whiskey. “Never have I ever is on the table, who starts?”
“Age order,” Archie declared. “Bubba, you’re the oldest.”
“Frankie’s the youngest,” he countered.
“Uh huh.” I slanted a look at him. “By a few months. But you’ve been an adult longer than the rest of us.”
“Impossible,” Ian teased me. “You’ve been an adult for as long as I’ve known you.”
I poked him with my toes, and he wrapped a hand around my foot. The flash of amusement in his eyes promised tickling, and I just stared at him. If he started that, there would be no drinking game and we’d end up breaking something in here.
“Fine,” he said with a mock sigh. “Never have I ever gotten a ticket.”
“Lame,” Archie said. “Dude…”
I groaned and reached for the shot glass and suddenly had four sets of eyes staring at me. I chuckled at the absolute shock in Jake’s