“He’s a lost cause, kitten,” Josh said with a sigh. “Years of muff-diving damaged his brain.”
“Happily so,” Cash retorted.
Sloane grabbed Georgie’s waist and pulled her back onto his lap. “They’ll be time for girl talk later or tomorrow.”
Curling against him, Georgie kissed the base of Sloane’s neck. Whatever they might’ve faced, they were completely in love now and let the world see it. That’s what Fee wanted. This type of dedication and devotion.
All this time she’d been standing up, keeping herself separate from the rest of them. Now, she made her way to the sofa and dropped next to Stretch. Without hesitation, he put his arm around her and pulled her close.
“Your eyes are so pretty, Georgie,” Fee said.
“They’re gorgeous,” Sloane told her. “From the moment we met, they captivated me.”
“You two make a beautiful couple.”
Georgie smiled. “Thank you. You three look wonderful together as well.”
For some reason, Fee remembered what Kendall said about having to live in Zoann’s shadow. “I’m the dull penny next to these two.”
“You’re the pretty sweetheart between us two,” Cash corrected. “Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.”
Georgie yawned. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long day.”
“Tell me about it,” Stretch mumbled.
Fee hugged him. “But you made it through.”
“I don’t know if I would have without you,” he responded, then raised his gaze to Cash. “Thank you. You were right for insisting on staying behind. It would’ve made the situation ten times worse.”
“What do you two say?” Cash asked, not commenting on Stretch’s words. “You want to accept Sloane’s invitation and stay another day?”
Fee suspected he didn’t know how to handle praise or love. She was sure that was one of the reasons he shied away from meaningful relationships. Instead of pointing out that he could at least acknowledge Stretch’s comment, she nodded. “If you guys are up to it, I am.”
“Hey, Meggie,” Fee greeted, stepping aside so her sister-in-law could enter the apartment. After closing the door, she led her to the sofa. “What’s up?”
“I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop in to check on you.”
Guilty unease swept through her as she thought of the days she’d just spent with Cash and Stretch. They’d gotten in late last night. She’d spent the day lounging around and doing laundry. She had intended to call Christopher later and tell him she was back from the trip she’d supposedly gone on with Blue.
“Are you sure everything’s okay, Fee?”
“What do you mean?”
“While you were away, Kendall told me she fired you. A fact you haven’t told Christopher. Before I inform him, I wanted to talk to you.”
“You know he set me up at Kendall’s?” Fee asked in surprise. The last she’d heard, her brother hadn’t wanted Meggie to know.
Meggie nodded. “I’ve known for several weeks.”
“You aren’t angry?”
“If Christopher feels she needed to be monitored, then I stand by him. My question to you is what’s going on. Why have you been lying to him?”
The role she’d played in the recent strife, however inadvertently, crossed Fee’s mind.
“Does it have anything to do with Cash and Stretch?” Meggie prodded, after a moment of silence.
After the way she, Cash and Stretch had bonded in Kansas City, she needed to take the next step. Tell Meggie and Zoann, and stand by whatever criticism they offered. She also needed to convince Cash to come clean to Christopher.
Rubbing her palms on her expose thighs, Fee nodded. “Yes. Kendall told you about us, didn’t she?”
“Stretch left for his father’s funeral and suddenly Cash was absent, too. Once I couldn’t reach you, I guessed it.”
“Does Christopher know?” Hope and dread rose within her. Half her battle would be won if her brother already knew.
“No, Fee,” Meggie said with a sigh. “Not yet. I wanted to talk to you first. Just as I wanted to ask you about your job.”
“Kendall can always tell him.”
“She could. We both know he’d be furious with you. I know there’s a reason why you’ve hidden Kendall firing you from him.”
“Just the fact that she fired me is enough.”
“Depends on the reasons.”
“Well, you see, I, uh, I got myself into a situation. Mainly, trusting Kendall with my affair. She held that against me and…and did a lot of stuff.”