Love Her or Lose Her (Hot & Hammered #2) - Tessa Bailey Page 0,27
found Wes with his jaw on the floor.
“Who is she?”
“Oh no. No.” Stephen shook his head. “Everyone needs to keep their interest in my sisters to themselves, starting now. Especially if you’re on my payroll. Leave me an ounce of pride.”
Dominic didn’t miss Travis sending Wes a warning slash across the neck. “You don’t want to go there, man.”
“I think I do,” Wes disagreed, tucking a tongue into his cheek. “I definitely want to go there.”
Stephen buried his face in his hands and groaned.
Bethany joined the group, and Wes smiled. “I’m Wes, ma’am. Nice to meet—”
“Roll your tongue back up into your mouth before one of us steps on it, pudding.” Bethany threw an incredulous look around the circle. “Who is this guy?”
“I was telling you when you cut me off.” Wes looked her up and down. “Pudding.”
Dominic, Travis, and Stephen all took a collective step backward.
“Forget I said anything.” Stephen waved a hand at Wes. “I want to see how this plays out.”
Bethany and Wes were still attempting to stare each other down.
“I thought we only hired college kids in the summertime,” Bethany said brightly, smoothing the sleeve of her black coat.
Wes crossed his arms, as if he had all the time in the world. “That must be hard, considering you probably create winter wherever you go.”
She gasped. “Are you calling me an ice princess?”
“If the tiara fits.”
“I’ll take a tiara over your Clint Eastwood hand-me-downs.”
Wes tilted his head to the side. “Remind me who that is? He might be better known among your generation.”
“My—” Bethany cut herself off, closing her eyes and visibly composing herself. “I didn’t come here to play verbal tennis. I’m here to work. Stephen, do you have a spare hard hat?”
Dominic reached for the one in his truck bed, handing it to her. “Avoid the back bedroom. There are some loose floorboards.”
“Chivalry is not dead after all,” she said, popping on the yellow hat and tapping the top to press it down. All while smiling sweetly at Wes. “I wasn’t sure.”
Wes smiled back, but it fell away as soon as Bethany turned toward Dominic.
“Whatcha got there? Some kind of letter?”
His lips gave a wry twist. “Sounds like you know something about this.”
“I might,” she said breezily, patting his arm. “Need some help?”
“Depends.” Dominic swallowed, studying the blank page and willing words to appear. “Are you pulling for us?”
“I’m pulling for my friend’s happiness.”
He lifted his eyes to find Bethany wearing a serious expression.
“And I know you want to make her happy. I know it.”
Dominic could only nod. “I’ll take the help.”
Travis propped a hip against his taillight. “Roses are red. Violets are blue—”
“Shut it,” Dominic said, jabbing the pen into Travis’s side.
“Boys. If you please.” Bethany held up a hand and waited for silence. “You know what always gets me? When a man proves he’s paying attention.” She glanced back over her shoulder. “You taking notes back there, pudding? I’m assuming your knowledge of women is a zero. We can tick it up to one.”
“I already know what a woman like you wants. A sturdy broom to ride around on.”
“I hate him, Stephen,” Bethany whispered tightly.
“That’s enough, you two,” Stephen huffed, waving at the blank page. “Continue. I’m interested to hear this.”
“Right.” Bethany patted Dominic on the forearm. “A man who pays attention. I’m not just talking about knowing her favorite movie or how she takes her coffee. I’m talking about details. Little things that would slip under the radar—unless you’re the one who loves her. You would notice them.” She smiled. “Yes, the devil is definitely in the details. Did that help?”
“Not even a little bit,” Dominic answered.
“Well, I tried!” She whipped her coat back and swept toward the house. “Texas called, Wes. It wants its rodeo clown back.”
“Oz called. They’re missing a witch.”
Travis laughed. “Told you not to go there.”
“Are you crazy?” Wes said, taking off his hat and fanning himself with it. “I want to go there even more now.”
The voices around Dominic faded out until he couldn’t hear anyone’s but Rosie’s, traveling to him from the past. In the darkness of the Montauk hotel where they stayed on their honeymoon. Over the phone when he called her from Afghanistan, his heart tearing in half while listening to her try not to cry, telling him to be safe. In the mist of a breathless meeting in their shower, her back squeaking up and down on the tile. Details. Details. He had those.
Swallowing hard, Dominic picked up the pen and started to