Beck nodded and Seth and Teller backed away. Seth looked at Teller and said, “I hope this isn’t a mistake.”
“I’ll go with them.”
“No, you won’t,” Beck said. “You just want another look.”
Val walked beside them anyway and gestured at their surroundings. There were plenty of other women going topless. The problem was that the rest paled in comparison. “She won’t be the only one, Beck. And that horse is already out of the barn.”
“Quit fucking reminding me.”
“I’ll do my best not to stare.”
Patrick knocked Beck in the shoulder when he would’ve replied to Val and shook his head. “Calm your shit down, Beck. She’s probably thinking we’re broke up right now and all you can think about is whether one more man sees her. Do you not see that she is fucking beautiful? She’s like a goddess. Let her have her moment. And you know she would’ve probably gone home with us without any trouble if you’d kept your damned mouth shut. You had to go and overreact.”
“I know. I’m a dickhead.”
“Pretty much.”
“She’ll forgive you,” Val said quietly.
Beck frowned and looked at the guy, wanting to not like him. “Why do you say that?”
“She doesn’t strike me as the type to throw away a relationship because of a little adversity. She loves you.”
Patrick frowned at Val. “What makes you say that? You’ve been around her for one day. Only met her twice.”
“It was in her eyes whenever she talked about the two of you.” Val smiled. “Shouldn’t come as a surprise. Her eyes tell everything. If she was mine I’d tell her I loved her every day.”
Beck didn’t reply because the tent they were headed for came into sight. Val spoke again. “Take my advice and don’t crowd her, either one of you. Let her have this moment, like Patrick said. Watch over her but don’t let her know you’re there until she looks for you.”
“How do you know she will?” Patrick asked.
“Charity saw us. She’s cool. She’s probably talking to Lucy right now, if you’re lucky.”
She’d called him a dickhead. He didn’t hold out hope that he was lucky. Instead, he joined Eli, Justin, and Ransome as they stood across the way in the dusky shadows where they could observe the crowd around the artist and still see their women, who each waited her turn.
Beck observed Justin, who was watching with a warm gaze as the artist painted on Charity’s torso. At one point, Charity craned her neck and looked over Justin’s way. He smiled and nodded at her and she blew him a kiss. When Beck looked back at Justin, it was to discover the man was watching him. Beck was relieved when Justin didn’t also give him a lecture about how to treat Lucy. He realized his mistake now.
Turning his gaze back to his wife, Justin said, “I look at it this way, O’Malley. I show her respect and trust because that’s what she’s earned. She’s given me two fantastic kids and twenty of the best years of her life. The least I can do is let her play a little and be proud of who and what she is. A beautiful, vibrant woman. I don’t expect her to hide herself. Any man here can look at her but only I get to touch her. I’m the only one she shares her soul with. That’s worth more to me than any satisfaction I’d get from some masculine chest-beating.”
Ow.
In an even softer voice, Justin added, “And it’s just me, but I’d never refer to my wife’s breasts as tits, especially not in front of anyone else. I know a lot of men use that word and lots of women do, too, but Charity hates it.”
“So does Rachel,” Eli whispered.
Patrick gave Beck a significant look and Beck wanted to shrivel even more. He’d not even been aware he’d used the word he already knew that Lucy hated. “I’m a dickhead,” he admitted.
The horrible feeling that grew in the center of his chest sucked his breath from him. On the one hand, he couldn’t stand the thought of losing another woman he loved. Then on the other, he couldn’t abide by simple rules of conduct, the first of which was not being insulting to the woman he loved. And they complained about Patrick’s father being hung up on appearances. He was no better.
Charity emerged from the tent, a smile making her face glow as she went to Justin. Beck couldn’t help but look, and Justin didn’t hit him or anything.
Charity’s upper torso was now cleverly disguised as a beautiful butterfly in shades of pink, blue, red, gold, and purple. All the men admired her artwork, and others even approached to compliment her—and Justin—on the body painting and on her beauty, too. Justin took it all in stride and seemed pleased for her.