Page 12 of Rhett Redeemed
“Hello,” I say to all of them, waving and sitting down next to Felix. Much safer than sitting next to his wife.
“Hey, Con,” Decker says warmly. “Can I get you something to drink? A glass of wine?”
“I’d love one.”
He stands up and heads to the kitchen, returning with a glass of red.
“How was your day?” Cara asks, sitting down next to Clover, Sapphire jumping into her arms.
“It was good,” I say. “I love working at the garage, and I’m learning so much. Most importantly, the people who work there are amazing.”
“I’m glad.” Cara nods, her eyes smiling at me.
“From what I’ve heard, they love you working there, too,” Decker adds.
Decker is the private investigator I hired to find Cara for me. I guess in a way I brought the two of them together, which makes me think that all this was meant to be. He used to be partners with Felix on the police force and now works with Temper’s sister-in-law. They are one of those big friendship groups where everyone knows everyone, and everyone dates everyone. I’d think it’s weird if I weren’t so jealous of the bonds they share.
I beam. “That’s wonderful to know. I’m so much happier working there than at the bar.”
“I better finish up dinner and get you all fed. Felix, you better come and supervise,” Decker announces.
Felix laughs and follows him to the kitchen. “How times have changed.”
“Yep, Felix cooks more than I do,” Clover says, grinning.
“Hopefully he rubs off on Decker,” Cara mutters, tucking her hair back behind her ear.
“Why does that sound dirty?” Clover replies, laughing. “And he’s cooking tonight, so he’s making an effort. What more can you ask for?”
“True. He is pretty wonderful.” Cara sighs happily. “And he’s not—”
“Bad to look at either,” Clover finishes, and they both burst out laughing together.
The two of them are so close. I don’t think I’ve ever met two women so in sync.
And yeah, I’m a little jealous.
“Well, to be honest, I threw him in the deep end tonight when I told him he’s cooking,” Cara admits, grinning.
“What is he cooking?” I ask, intrigued. Sapphire looks over at me with her gorgeous blue eyes, smiling widely. Her dark hair is tied up in a small ponytail on top of her head. Naturally, I smile back at her. She is so cute, maybe even the cutest child I’ve ever seen, and when she moves from Cara to come over to me, I let her sit on my lap. I can feel Clover’s eyes on me, watching the interaction.
“Carbonara and garlic bread. Not too hard, so he can’t mess it up. Aw, look, she likes you,” Cara replies sweetly.
We hear loud banging noises coming from the kitchen. Clover’s eyes head in that direction. “Well, worst-case, we can always order some pizza.”
“Yeah, I have the pizza place on speed dial.”
Sapphire touches my face and then moves off my lap, reaching for her mom to take her back. “She is so adorable,” I tell Clover, who kisses her daughter and holds her.
“Thank you, we certainly think so.”
“She doesn’t usually like many people at first,” Cara adds, sharing a look with Clover. “You must have a good aura about you, Con.”
I decide to change the subject, not wanting to press my luck with Clover. “So I think I’m ready to start dating. Aside from the guy I had a one-night stand with a few months ago—”
“What guy?” Cara asks, giving me her attention.
“I met this really sexy guy at the bar, and I ended up going home with him,” I admit.