like you need some rest.”
“So I look like crap. Got it. Check.”
Logan wrapped his arm around Bailey and leaned in close. His lips brushed Bailey’s ear. “You definitely do not look like crap.”
Bailey shuddered.
“But you do look like you need a little more shut-eye.”
“I didn’t sleep well last night,” Bailey confessed. “Every little sound had me jerking awake, and then we met up early for brunch so… yeah.”
“So take a nap. I’m going to go watch those videos. Maybe you can come by tomorrow and look them over with me? See if you see anyone who looks off to you.”
“I can do that.”
“Good.” Logan brushed his nose over Bailey’s cheek and then pressed his lips against Bailey’s temple. “Get some rest and call me if you need me. Hell, call me if you don’t.”
“Okay.”
Bailey followed Logan downstairs and closed the door behind Logan, then put the broom handle back against the door, barricading it shut. Their eyes met through the glass pane in the door, and Logan waved before walking away.
After heading back upstairs, Bailey’s mind was a whirlwind of conflicted emotions. By the time he’d dirtied every pot in his kitchen and had four different soups and sauces bubbling away, he hadn’t managed to make sense of anything.
A lurking sense of danger hovered around him as he stood in front of the kitchen window cleaning up the disaster that was his kitchen. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so hasty to say he wanted to be in his own house.
His skin had crawled all afternoon, and not even cooking had helped relax him. Now the sun was going down and the view out of his window was nothing but shadows. Yeah, he was definitely creeped out.
Of course, that was when a familiar carload of friends pulled into the driveway. Will had driven, but the whole crew was there. Bailey grabbed a towel and dried his soapy hands before dashing downstairs to let them in.
They’d never been an overly touchy-feely group, but the moment Bailey opened the door, he found himself enveloped in a massive group hug.
“Oh my God, it smells so good in here, Bails,” Joey whimpered. “Feed me. I’m starving. I’m fading away to nothing.”
Bailey grinned and poked him in the ribs. “Yeah, you feel like you’re starving. How many six-packs do you have again?”
Joey whipped up his shirt, proud to show off his extremely rippled abs. “Enough to know when they need food.”
“Come on, then.”
Bailey ran back up the stairs and decided to let Joey test his new recipe. He’d been inspired by his lunch, so he’d gone online to find recipes for white chicken chili. Luckily, he’d had all the ingredients on hand.
He made a quick bowl for Joey and added a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese on top before handing it over. “First victim.”
“I love being your taste tester.” Joey groaned and reached around Bailey to snag a spoon out of the drawer. He escaped into the living room while the others still hovered in the doorway of the kitchen.
“What?”
Will scowled at the mess. “Did something explode in here? Should we check you for injuries?”
Bailey grinned. “You know I’m messy.”
“Clean as you go, Bails. It’s not that hard.” Will tugged up the sleeves of his long-sleeved T-shirt and started working on the mountain of dishes.
Bailey fixed bowls of chili for the girls, then began drying what Will had washed. It really didn’t take too long to get everything back in order because the kitchen was obnoxiously small.
By the time they were done, Joey was back in the doorway with a sad-panda look on his face. “Please, sir, may I have another?” He held out his bowl and stuck out his lip.
“You mean I passed the Joey test?”
Joey nodded. “Loved it. Where’d you get the idea?”
Bailey’s cheeks heated.
Every one of his friends stopped and looked at him.
“What?”
“That shouldn’t have been a question that made you blush,” Heather said. “Spill.”
Bailey sighed. “Logan might have taken me to lunch at his favorite bistro.”
“Did he just sigh Logan’s name?” Ashley asked. “Y’all heard that too, right?”
“He totally sighed,” Will said. “So, how was lunch?”
Bailey ignored the obvious innuendo in Will’s tone. “It was great. I had the chili. He had the French onion.”
Heather snorted. “Don’t make me sit on you. I will tickle until you tell.”
“I don’t know. It’s weird. We’re flirting? But I don’t feel right about flirting. And then I don’t know who he is, you know? He basically said he’s some sort